Latest news with #TrajanLangdon
New York Times
08-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Pistons president Trajan Langdon vows to ‘stay patient' during offseason
DETROIT — Once the New York Knicks eliminated the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs on May 1, questions surrounding the Pistons' impending summer decisions began to arise. Malik Beasley, Dennis Schröder, Tim Hardaway Jr., Paul Reed and Lindy Waters III are all unrestricted 2025 free agents. Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, both 2022 lottery picks, are eligible for rookie-scale contract extensions. Detroit would have benefited from a defined secondary scoring option alongside Cade Cunningham, especially in the playoffs. Is it worth taking a big swing via a summer trade, or should the Pistons prioritize developing homegrown talent in players such as Ivey, Duren, Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland II? Detroit's president of basketball operations, Trajan Langdon, addressed local reporters Wednesday to answer those questions and more. Langdon, fresh off his first season at the helm with the Pistons, spearheaded the team's revitalization that saw it triple its win total from 2023-24 and win its first postseason game since 2008. Langdon began his end-of-the-season news conference by expressing his plans for the offseason. 'For us, it's stay patient. I'm not going to change in that regard,' Langdon said. 'We're going to listen to calls, we're going to see (about) opportunities. We're always going to look at avenues to get better that we think make sense for us to improve. Then at the end of the day, with everything that's presented to us, with the options we have, we have to make the right decision for sustainable success. That's one thing that we want to have here, and I think we have a group of guys we can do that with. 'At what level, right now, we don't know. But a big thing for this summer is going to be developing the guys that we have. The young guys we have that are 19 through 22, 23 years old and have them continue to grow. If those guys take steps, we get better. That's what we're focused on, putting people with those guys that can make them better. I thought it was a pretty good formula this year.' Let's lay out some of the youth Langdon was alluding to. Holland is 19 and will enter the 2025-26 season at 20. Duren will be 21 at the start of next season, Thompson will be 22, Ivey 23, and both Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart will enter next season at 24. Thompson will have an opportunity to expand his talent during his first NBA offseason, after blood clots at the end of the 2023-24 season robbed him of his first NBA offseason and training camp. Ivey was on pace for career highs in points, rebounds, steals, field-goal and 3-point percentage in 30 games before his left fibula fracture and is already months into his rehab process. Holland averaged 15.6 minutes during the regular season, played a total of 33 during his first playoff experience and will likely use summer league to improve. Duren averaged a double-double with nearly two blocks during his first postseason run and blossomed on both ends as the regular season progressed. The Pistons possess a potentially promising core, and it seemed clear it would take an offer close to undeniable, based on Langdon's responses, for Detroit to tinker with that group. Langdon later pointed to the group's cohesion heading into next season being another reason he's eager to see what this bunch can do. 'We have to learn more about our players,' Langdon said. 'That continuity, not only with the roster but with the coaching staff, (is something) this group has never had before. That will be a positive through the summer and into next season as well. The questions will be there about what we do. Do we add another person or do we build from within? 'Like I said before, we'll look at all avenues and decide what the best avenue is for us.' More from Trajan Langdon on the Pistons' need to figure out what they currently have: 'We have to learn more about our players. … That continuity, not only with the roster but with the coaching staff, (is something) this group has never had before. That will be a positive.' — Hunter Patterson (@HuntPatterson_) May 7, 2025 On the contract extension front with Ivey and Duren, Langdon said it was 'to be determined,' but there will at least be conversations with each. Langdon mentioned the Pistons 'have a long time to make that decision.' Detroit must decide between July 1 and the start of next regular season in October on Duren and Ivey's contract extensions. Apart from the extensions, Pistons fans shouldn't expect big splashes in free agency. No 2025 restricted or unrestricted free agents made the 2025 All-Star game, and there aren't too many big man players available in the first place. Langdon was asked how Detroit is most likely to go about acquiring a potential star-level player to pair next to Cunningham in a hypothetical situation. He made sure to confirm, before answering, that the basis of his response was rooted in this being a hypothetical question. 'I assume it would have to happen in a trade,' Langdon said after asking the reporter to repeat the question. 'I don't know how many All-Stars are going to come (to Detroit) in free agency right now. And the amount of cap space we have doesn't allow that.' This is also a delicate situation because, as much as Langdon doesn't want to stunt the growth of his young core, it's also imperative not to stunt Cunningham's individual growth. The first-time All-Star posted career bests in points, assists and blocks per game while shooting career highs from the field and 3-point line. Langdon is aware that the Pistons go as Cunningham does, and he's marked the 23-year-old as the franchise's cornerstone. Cunningham averaged 25 points, 8.7 assists, 8.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks during his first six postseason games, all while being the Knicks' defensive focal point. He joined elite company in the process. Cade Cunningham in his first career playoff series so far: 🏎️ 25.4 PPG🏎️ 8.6 RPG 🏎️ 8.8 APG
Reuters
06-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Thunder GM Sam Presti named NBA Executive of Year
May 6 - Oklahoma City Thunder executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti was named the 2024-25 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year on Tuesday. It is the first honor for Presti, 47, who previously finished second in 2009-10, 2019-20 and 2023-24. The Thunder led the NBA with a 68-14 record this season, the best mark in franchise history and tied for sixth-best in league history. Oklahoma City also set an NBA record for scoring differential, outscoring opponents by 12.9 points per game. "An award such as this is really the result of our players and their commitment to our program," Presti said. "They push themselves in all capacities for the good of the team. I'm fortunate to work with this particular collection of men and I do not take their professionalism for granted." Oklahoma City swept the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs before losing to the Denver Nuggets in Monday's Game 1 of the best-of-seven conference semifinals. Presti has been the Thunder GM since 2007. Before that he spent seven years in the San Antonio Spurs' front office. Presti received 10 first-place votes and 74 total points in the voting by fellow NBA executives. Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman was second and Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon finished third. "I'm extremely humbled to be recognized by my peers," Presti said. "It is a privilege to be a member of such a talented group of basketball executives that work in the NBA today and I'm thankful for the relationships I've enjoyed with many of them over the years."
Associated Press
06-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
OKC's Sam Presti picked as the NBA's executive of the year
Sam Presti of the Oklahoma City Thunder was announced Tuesday as the NBA's executive of the year, the reward for building that team into a juggernaut that won a league-best 68 games this season. It is Presti's first time winning the award and the first time since 1994 that the franchise — which was then called the Seattle SuperSonics — had its top executive voted as the winner. Bob Whitsitt won it that season. Presti, the Thunder's executive vice president and general manager, got 10 first-place votes from a panel of 30 basketball executives — one from each of the NBA's teams — who ranked their top three choices in order. Presti appeared on 22 of those 30 ballots. 'I look at it like it's a tremendous privilege to be able to do it,' Presti said at the start of the season when asked about his job. 'Eventually someone else is going to be the person that's doing it, and for me, while I'm serving the position, I think I've said this in the past, it's not my job, it's the Thunder's job. I'm just serving the position the best that I can and hopefully doing a good job with it for as many people as possible, and I enjoy it.' Cleveland's Koby Altman was second with six first-place votes, after the Cavaliers won 64 games and finished atop the Eastern Conference standings. Detroit's Trajan Langdon also got six first-place votes and was third, after the Pistons went from a 14-win team to a 44-win playoff team in his first year leading that front office. Houston's Rafael Stone (four first-place votes) was fourth, the Los Angeles Clippers' Lawrence Frank (one first-place vote) was fifth and the Los Angeles Lakers' Rob Pelinka (also one first-place vote) was sixth. Pelinka engineered the biggest trade of the season, the one that brought Luka Doncic to the Lakers from the Dallas Mavericks — but was listed on only five of the 30 ballots cast. Golden State's Mike Dunleavy was seventh, Brooklyn's Sean Marks and 2024 award winner Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics (both of whom got one first-place vote) tied for eighth, and New York's Leon Rose was 10th. Sacramento's Monte McNair was 11th, while Orlando's Jeff Weltman and San Antonio's Brian Wright tied for 12th. The executive of the year award is not like most NBA season honors that are voted on by a global panel of 100 writers and broadcasters who cover the league and cast ballots shortly after the end of the regular season. Awards that were part of that voting process and have already had their results unveiled: Cleveland's Kenny Atkinson winning Coach of the Year, Atlanta's Dyson Daniels winning Most Improved Player , San Antonio's Stephon Castle winning Rookie of the Year, Cleveland's Evan Mobley winning Defensive Player of the Year, New York's Jalen Brunson winning Clutch Player of the Year , and Boston's Payton Pritchard winning Sixth Man of the Year. Other awards announced by the league since the end of the regular season: Golden State's Stephen Curry won the Twyman-Stokes teammate of the year award , Warriors teammate Draymond Green won the hustle award and Boston's Jrue Holiday won the sportsmanship award for the second time in his career. The league's social justice champion will be revealed Wednesday. Major awards that will be announced later in the playoffs include MVP (either Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver's Nikola Jokic or Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo), plus the All-NBA, All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams. ___ AP NBA:
