The New Orleans Pelicans went from one of the most promising teams in the NBA to a dumpster fire and Trajan Langdon got a front-row seat while it happened as GM. Now as team president of the Detroit Pistons he knows exactly how to avoid the same fate in the Motor City.
The Pelicans once had a team stacked with young talent, complementary veterans and a ton of draft capital. It looked like New Orleans had the potential for a sustainable title contender with Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Jrue Holiday and others, but it all fell apart and eventually led to the firing of David Griffin a year after Langdon smartly jumped ship to run the Pistons.