{"id":589791,"date":"2026-02-08T04:36:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T04:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/589791\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T04:36:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T04:36:25","slug":"what-detroit-pistons-president-trajan-langdons-trade-deadline-moves-say-about-teams-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/589791\/","title":{"rendered":"What Detroit Pistons President Trajan Langdon\u2019s trade deadline moves say about teams\u2019 future"},"content":{"rendered":"

DETROIT \u2013 Detroit Pistons<\/a> President Trajan Langdon<\/a> discussed the team\u2019s recent trade-deadline moves and overall strategy.<\/p>\n

On the trade that sent Jaden Ivey<\/a> to the Chicago Bulls for Dario \u0160ari\u0107<\/a> and Kevin Huerter<\/a>, Langdon said the goal was twofold. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf we could use our exception to bring in a player that we liked or to do something for assets for a potential move or a better player going forward,\u201d said Langdon.<\/p>\n

Langdon added that the team aimed to improve spacing and shooting. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe did a little bit of both, bringing in Mike Conley and then rerouting him from our space in Chicago, and a potential move up in the draft, even if it\u2019s a couple spots,\u201d Langdon said.<\/p>\n

Langdon praised Huerter\u2019s fit with the team. <\/p>\n

\u201cHis time in the league, not just a shooter but also a smart basketball player with size. Moves well without the ball, has been really good finishing around the basket the past couple years, and can run some second side pick and roll, be a secondary ball handler as well,\u201d Langdon said.<\/p>\n

Regarding Daniss Jenkins<\/a>, Langdon shared an update on the young player\u2019s status. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is his 50th game and his last game on his two-way. We\u2019re having conversations with his agent about what that looks like going forward, and we\u2019ll convert him over the weekend. He\u2019ll be a rostered player in our game on in-show. At least that\u2019s the goal,\u201d Langdon said.<\/p>\n

He praised Jenkins\u2019 hard work and improvement. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s worked his butt off all last season, playing a ton of games for the Motor City Cruise<\/a>. We saw his improvement during the year and how he played in the summer league in Las Vegas. He\u2019s continued to improve working with trainers, staff, and teammates,” Langdon said.<\/p>\n

On the trade deadline process, Langdon said it was a mix of proactive and reactive moves. <\/p>\n

\u201cTrying to look at things that made sense for us to get better. That was always the intention behind this trade deadline \u2014 to improve this team now and going forward,\u201d Langdon said.<\/p>\n

He emphasized the importance of fit with the team\u2019s identity and coaching system. <\/p>\n

\u201cThings that J.B. will fit in his system on both ends of the floor. That was the mindset going into not just doing something to do it but being intentional around any move,\u201d Langdon said.<\/p>\n

Langdon expressed hope that by the end of the season, the team would have clarity on its direction. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re playing good basketball this year as a team. The guys understand what J.B. and staff want. The hope is we give ourselves a chance to play some meaningful basketball in the postseason and assess who we are going forward,\u201d Langdon said.<\/p>\n

On exploring the buyout market, Langdon said the team will \u201calways look at opportunities to get better\u201d and \u201cdefinitely explore it and see who becomes available.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding balancing young players\u2019 development with potentially impactful moves, Langdon said it was a combination of both. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe looked at everything, different opportunities, and tried to understand what\u2019s going to make us better now. We had a lot of good internal conversations and felt this was the best direction for us right now,\u201d Langdon said.<\/p>\n

He acknowledged that some potential deals were considered but not executed. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere were some things that I wouldn\u2019t say got close that we thought about but didn\u2019t execute,\u201d Langdon said.<\/p>\n

When asked about the possibility of \u201cskipping steps\u201d given the team\u2019s strong position, Langdon said it was not really an option. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat was not available to us. We still talk about it, but nothing came up that would have made us do that,\u201d Langdon said.<\/p>\n

On the Eastern Conference landscape, Langdon said the team wanted moves that would help both this year and beyond. <\/p>\n

\u201cPhilosophically, that didn\u2019t fit to just take a shot for one year that would impact us going forward. We wanted carry-forward moves,\u201d Langdon said.<\/p>\n

Regarding the trade involving Huerter and \u0160ari\u0107, Langdon said it was about finding the right fit and adding spacing. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe know we needed spacing, and we thought Kevin did that. His gravity has been good and gives more space to operate, whether playing with Cade or in non-Cade minutes,\u201d Langdon said.<\/p>\n

He also noted Huerter\u2019s defensive improvement and size as a good fit.<\/p>\n

On maintaining team chemistry, Langdon said it was a key factor. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see it between the lines and in the locker room. We were conscientious about making sure the group feels the same post-trade deadline as pre-trade deadline,\u201d Langdon said.<\/p>\n

He acknowledged that \u0160ari\u0107\u2019s departure would be difficult but expressed confidence in Huerter as a high-character player who is excited about the team\u2019s winning environment.<\/p>\n

On the team\u2019s offensive structure, Langdon said they would be creative and rely on different players stepping up. <\/p>\n

\u201cCade has been consistent. JD has taken a step. We have to have other guys be aggressive and step up at different times,\u201d Langdon said.<\/p>\n

He emphasized defense as the team\u2019s identity. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t stop doing that. There are different ways to skin a cat, and we\u2019ve been doing it differently on defense,\u201d Langdon said.<\/p>\n

Finally, Langdon highlighted the importance of culture in decision-making. <\/p>\n

\u201cCulture falls extremely high. The environment, the way these guys come together, enjoy coming to work, have each other\u2019s back, drive one another,\u201d Langdon said.<\/p>\n

He stressed the need for seamless integration of new players mid-season. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have much time to incorporate that player. It needs to be quick and seamless to stay on the winning path,\u201d Langdon said.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DETROIT \u2013 Detroit Pistons President Trajan Langdon discussed the team\u2019s recent trade-deadline moves and overall strategy. On the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":589792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3773],"tags":[7,6101,10877,296,188,3860,1018,4103,25033,6,297,6244],"class_list":{"0":"post-589791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-pistons","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-daniss-jenkins","10":"tag-dario-saric","11":"tag-detroit","12":"tag-detroit-pistons","13":"tag-detroitpistons","14":"tag-jaden-ivey","15":"tag-kevin-huerter","16":"tag-motor-city-cruise","17":"tag-nba","18":"tag-pistons","19":"tag-trajan-langdon"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116033158172876232","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}