Three clamorous weeks following his official hiring, the Detroit Pistons have officially introduced Trajan Langdon as the President of Basketball Operations. Seated next to Pistons Owner Tom Gores, the two discussed the franchise's past, present, and future and what his ideology of what the Pistons will be. This marks not only the first press conference for Langdon since his hiring but the first since the Pistons fired former GM Troy Weaver and head coach Monty Williams.
Since the conference took place after the firings, the press conference focused mainly on Langdon's vision of the Detroit Pistons' organization under his watch. After an hour of explanations and grilling, there are three major talking points that fans need to know about in the Trajan Langdon era. You can watch the entire press conference here.
1. The Pistons Failures Were Blamed on Bad Leadership
This is the only major note from the past regimes, but it is important to identify because it loomed over the meeting. Gores noted that the team needed a fresh start, but talked about how he hired great basketball minds, but, oddly confirming numerous reports, poor leadership kept the Pistons from winning. In Gores' mind, the team needed someone who could unite the franchise.
There were several reports throughout the years of the Pistons having too many cooks in the kitchen, but they all have the same common denominator: they were hired by Tom Gores. To his credit, he blames himself for it, but it also seemed to take a cheap shot at the outgoing Williams and Weaver. The blame for a season as bad as the 2023-24 season belongs to everyone, and whether it's true or not, it wasn't necessary.