Four names have emerged as top candidates for the Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations position, sources told Yahoo Sports.
Trajan Langdon, Scott Perry, Dennis Lindsey and John Hammond have impressed in interviews and are frontrunners to meet with Pistons owner Tom Gores as the franchise hopes to fill the position before next month’s NBA Draft.
The Pistons are using a search firm to vet candidates.
Langdon is currently the general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans. Perry recently held the title of general manager of the New York Knicks and is currently an ESPN analyst. Lindsey is an advisor to the Dallas Mavericks and Hammond is a senior advisor to Orlando Magic GM Jeff Weltman.
Detroit’s president position has been vacant since Stan Van Gundy held the position between 2014 and 2018.
The Pistons could also wait to gauge the interest of Timberwolves CEO Tim Connelly, who built both these Timberwolves and most of the current Nuggets roster – those two teams will play Sunday night in Game 7 of their conference semifinals series .
Connelly is opting out of the Timberwolves at the end of this season after signing a five-year, $40 million deal in 2022. With the Timberwolves’ ownership situation in flux, as current owner Glen Taylor and future owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are headed for arbitration across the league, he could be looking for both a raise and another team, but the Timberwolves are ready to be contenders with their core in the coming years.
The Pistons are a long way from that, after a franchise-record 28 games and a league-worst 14-68 record. They haven’t won a playoff game since 2008 and are currently ranked fifth in next month’s draft. The available space and Gores’ willingness to spend money are an attractive element for this job.
Current general manager Troy Weaver still serves in his role, as does head coach Monty Williams, who signed a record deal to come to the franchise last summer. The new president is expected to make decisions or at least strong recommendations on the future of both.
Langdon has climbed the ranks, starting with San Antonio and Brooklyn before moving to New Orleans in his current role. During Langdon’s playing days, Arn Tellem was his agent. Tellem is now the vice chairman of the Pistons, and the Pistons have picked up players represented by Tellem’s sons over the years.
Perry was instrumental in cleaning up the Knicks’ books after arriving in 2017, and the franchise has a surplus of draft picks after years in the red. A native of Detroit, he had two stints with the Pistons franchise, including as manager when they won an NBA championship in 2004 and went to six consecutive conference finals during that time.
Hammond was also a chief lieutenant in Detroit back when the Pistons were last relevant, before moving on to Milwaukee and now Orlando. However, at 69 years old, Hammond and the Pistons may be on different timelines here.
Lindsey was the general manager in Utah before an ownership change, with Ryan Smith moving in and later handing top duties to Justin Zanik, and Danny Ainge becoming CEO and deputy governor.
Lindsey was accused of making a racist comment in a 2015 exit interview by former Jazz player Elijah Millsap in 2021. The league investigated Millsap’s claim that Lindsey told him, “If you say one more word, I’ll cut off your black a- and send you back to Louisiana,” but could not confirm it. Lindsey denied the statement was made and spent last season with the Mavericks, who are one game away from a spot in the Western Conference finals.
The Pistons just settled a lawsuit involving former assistant general manager Rob Murphy and his former executive assistant, DeJanai Raska, a year after Raska accused Murphy of inappropriate sexual conduct. Murphy was placed on leave in October 2022.
The role of President of Basketball Operations is a major asset for the franchise, with Cade Cunningham eligible for an extension this summer and the Pistons having been in the doldrums for some time.