Report: Pistons to Hire Pelicans GM As President of Basketball Operations

Tom Dierberger | May 23, 2024

Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon speaks during a press conference in 2022. / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

New Orleans Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon is set to become the new face of the Detroit Pistons' front office.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday that the Pistons plan to hire Langdon as their new president of basketball operations and are working out a deal to make it happen soon.

Langdon served as the Pelicans' general manager for the last five years under president of basketball operations David Griffin. He previously worked as the assistant GM of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to '19.

Since Langdon joined the front office in New Orleans in 2019, the Pelicans drafted Zion Wiliamson, Kira Lewis, Dyson Daniels and Jordan Hawkins in the first round of the draft. Herb Jones, a second-round pick in 2021, has been a starter in New Orleans since his rookie season.

Detroit owns the No. 5 pick in the upcoming 2024 NBA draft.

The Pistons haven't won more than 20 games in a season since 2018–19. They finished an NBA-worst 14–68 last season, a campaign that included a historic 28-game losing streak.

Langdon will have the opportunity to work with general manager Troy Weaver and coach Monty Williams, who signed the biggest coaching contract in NBA history last summer worth $78.5 million over six years.

Langdon, who grew up in Anchorage, Ala., played four seasons of collegiate basketball at Duke from 1994 to '99, where he set the school record for three-pointers—later broken by JJ Redick—and earned the nickname "The Alaskan Assassin."