The NBA offseason is still in its infancy but has already gotten off to a roaring start. Many notable trades have already been made, highlighted by those for Kevin Durant, Desmond Bane, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis, and many more will surely take place before the start of the 2025-26 season. In spite of the offseason excitement, Detroit Pistons team president Trajan Langdon has remained steadfast in his conservative approach.
In his pre-draft press conference, Langdon reaffirmed his expectation of an offseason without a big splash. This has been met with split reactions from Pistons fans. Some have praised Langdon for his patience with the young core but others would rather see the team acquire an established player who can help them win now, especially with the Eastern Conference turning into a potential war of attrition.
Trajan Langdon understands the assignment for the Detroit Pistons
Some potential Pistons trade targets have already been dealt, most recently Jordan Poole. Poole had a resurgence last season and profiled as a surprisingly efficient scorer on an abysmal Wizards team. Between his shot creation and incredible 3pt shooting, he had some Pistons fantasizing about his pairing with Cade Cunningham.
The idea of Poole taking pressure off of Cade is appealing but the financial reality is much harsher. Poole is slated to make over $30M in each of the next two seasons, so trading for him would either cause the Pistons to give up significant assets or exceed the tax threshold, which can hamper team-building efforts down the road.
The reality of the current NBA landscape forces teams to be very careful who they choose to commit significant salary to and for how long. Ever since the first and second apron restrictions went into effect, we have already seen championship rosters gutted just a couple of seasons after winning it all.
Just in the last two days we have seen the Boston Celtics trade away Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis for financial reasons just one season after they helped the team raise their 18th banner. The Nuggets also chose to let key contributors walk in free agency since winning the 2023 championship because of financial complications.
For these teams, putting themselves into financially difficult situations further down the road was worth it because they were able to capture an elusive championship. But building a team that can contend for years in a row is nearly impossible without having a homegrown core that includes stars on cheaper contracts at least for a couple of years.
Langdon’s approach shows that he understands this reality and Pistons fans should be grateful to hear that he isn’t willing to jeopardize the team’s future by gambling big on a free agent or trade before the team is ready to truly contend.