The OKC Thunder are the defending champions, have the best record in the league this season and a young roster that is the envy of the league. There is also a chance that they will end up with a top five pick in the 2026 draft anyway, which is why most believe Sam Presti is the best executive in the game.
He built the Thunder by trading away stars for future picks and young players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He stockpiled draft picks, eventually turning them into star players and creating what looks to be a juggernaut. The Thunder are the clear frontrunners for another title, and teams have to measure themselves against OKC when considering moves.
Trajan Langdon is in a similar spot in Detroit, where he has a load of young talent and control of all his future draft assets, which makes the pundits believe the Pistons will push in some chips and go all-in on a big trade.
But Langdon will look at OKC and ask himself what Sam Presti would do in this situation, and the answer is probably nothing.
The Detroit Pistons can’t burn all of their assets if they can’t win a title
The Detroit Pistons can come out of the Eastern Conference, that much is clear, as there isn’t a dominant team right now other than them. Sure, the Knicks and Cavaliers would likely be favored in a playoff series, but if the Pacers can win the East, so can this year’s Pistons.
But then they hit a brick wall known as OKC.
I’m not sure there is a move out there that could vault the Pistons past OKC, not even the great Lauri Markkanen, who many think could be the final piece of a championship puzzle in Detroit, though I would completely disagree.
The truth is that the Pistons probably wouldn’t be able to beat OKC even with Markkanen, so there is no reason to blow up the team to chase a pipe dream that could cost them long-term.
Remember, what would Sam Presti do?
We’ve seen what Presti would do, which is to be patient, let his team develop and make the right move when he thinks it can push him over the top, as he did last season with Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein.
Before last season, everyone and their grandma had OKC penciled in for a trade for some superstar, but instead they just stuck with their home-grown depth and complemented it with very good role players.
The Pistons aren’t quite at that stage yet but are more like the Thunder team from the year before that won 57 games but got bounced from the Western Conference semi-finals by the Mavericks. It would have been tempting to overreact to that playoff loss and make a big move, but Presti didn’t.
Instead, he addressed specific needs with quality veteran role players, leaving his core intact.
I’m sure Trajan Langdon has been watching and sees what Presti has built in OKC. Detroit could have something similar, but they will need to continue to be patient and not make a move until it's one that can push them to a title.