It appears the New Orleans Pelicans will be looking to fill a key front office role this offseason.
Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon is expected to be hired by the Detroit Pistons as their president of basketball operations, according to a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal had not yet been completed as of Friday morning.
The role is a step up for Langdon who was in a secondary role to David Griffin in New Orleans. With the Pistons he'll have full control over decision-making, and he'll have the task of righting the ship for a Pistons team that won 14 games this season, including a record 28-game losing streak at one point. Despite finishing with the league's worst record the Pistons landed at No. 5 in the draft lottery. The Pistons have drafted in the top 7 each of the past four seasons, including the No. 1 overall pick in 2021 that they used on Cade Cunningham.
Langdon, a former Duke standout and the No. 11 pick in the 1999 draft, has been with the Pelicans since 2019 and helped guide the Pelicans through some choppy seas. The team picked Zion Williamson No. 1 overall that season, but fired coaches in back-to-back seasons before hiring Willie Green and bringing in several key pieces to execute a turnaround and a 49-win season this past year.
The Pelicans haven't escaped the first round of the postseason since the 2017-'18 season, but will enter the 2024-'25 with some of the highest expectations in franchise history.
In Langdon's new role he'll join Pistons GM Troy Weaver and former Pelicans head coach Monty Williams.