Trajan Langdon may have already bested Troy Weaver in one area

Trajan Langdon is just getting started as president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons, but there is already a different feel around the team. 

To be fair, we’ve thought this before, as Troy Weaver brought an optimistic vibe and a strong record of player evaluation, just like Langdon. 

It’s still very early to evaluate what Langdon has done for the Detroit, as it’s his first offseason and it’s not even over yet. 

But he’s already accomplished some things Troy Weaver never did and there may be more on the way. 

Trajan Langdon is trying to build a team in Detroit 

It’s a strange thing to say about a former NBA GM, but Troy Weaver never tried to build a coherent team in Detroit. 

He built rosters to lose maximum games, and every acquisition was some attempt at rehabilitating a sunk cost or hoping to grab a veteran he could flip. 

It worked out once with Jerami Grant, but the rest of the time it never seemed like Weaver had a plan and he never put together a roster around his young players that made a bit of sense. 

The Pistons already have a more balanced and coherent roster than they ever did with Weaver, and Langdon was able to pull it off without giving up any assets and without selling fans on the idea of a first-round bust that just needed a change of scenery. 

And after just two Summer League games, I am ready to predict that Langdon has already accomplished something Weaver never did as the Pistons GM. 

Troy Weaver was not great in the NBA Draft for the Detroit Pistons 

Most of Weaver’s draft picks were in the top-5, and to be honest, the book is still out on most of them. 

Cade Cunningham looks like a future star, but Weaver hardly gets credit for selecting the consensus #1 pick. 

I’d say the same of Jaden Ivey and Ausar Thompson, who were obvious picks after they fell to the Pistons. Weaver traded assets to get Isaiah Stewart, which was a questionable move, and most of his 2020 Draft class isn’t even in the league. So much for the “Core Four.” 

You can argue about whether they were the right picks, but what you can’t argue is that Weaver’s record outside of the first round was abysmal. 

As a guy who had this reputation for being a great talent evaluator, Weaver never hit on a second-round pick or an undrafted free agent. 

He drafted Saben Lee, who is a fringe NBA player for another team, Isaiah Livers, who will likely be out of the league after Weaver had to give up assets to get rid of him and he couldn’t get off the bench for the Wizards. 

You could argue Luka Garza was a quality pick, but too bad the Pistons let him get away before they could find out. 

Balsa Koprivika and Gabriele Procida never sniffed the NBA and all of Weaver’s two-way signings were older prospects with low ceilings who never made an impact. 

It was a huge failure of player development for a team as bad as the Pistons to not find a single hidden gem in the draft or outside of it when they had so many developmental minutes to go around. 

It’s still very very early, but Trajan Langdon may have already bested Troy Weaver in this area.

Bobi Klintman looks like a player for the Detroit Pistons 

Weaver had a habit of choosing older players in the second round who he thought might benefit his young core but it never happened. 

Langdon traded up in the second round this year to select Bobi Klintman, a 21-year-old with a first-round ceiling. While Weaver was taking the Lees, Livers and Garzas of the world, Langdon took a flyer on a guy who has a much higher ceiling and is still young enough to develop. 

It’s still very early, and you can’t tell much from Summer League, but Klintman looks like a player. He’s 6-foot-10 and can shoot the rock, going 4-of-8 from long range in the second game after hitting 3-of-7 in the first one. 

He’s unlikely to make an impact right away and will probably spend most of the season in the G-League, but I am more excited about his talent than anyone Weaver ever drafted in the second round. 

Daniss Jenkins, an undrafted free agent, also had a huge performance in the second Summer League matchup, and both are players to watch. Langdon must believe, as he already gave Klintman a four-year deal, two of which are guaranteed.

Finding talent in the second round or outside of it has been Langdon’s trademark as a GM, and he may have done it again in his first draft for the Pistons. 

You can’t overreact too much to Summer League games, but is there anyone who has watched Klintman who doesn’t think he’ll be better than Isaiah Livers, who was injured and two years older than Klintman when he entered the league? 

Langdon has already done more than Weaver did as the Pistons GM as anyone can lose games and collect high draft picks. What separates the good GMs from the bad is winning deals and finding talent that other people have missed. 

Hopefully, Langdon is already on a path to succeed where Weaver failed.