Pistons owner Tom Gores is pleased with the way that new president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon identified three-point shooting and veteran leadership as priorities in his first summer on the job and made moves to address those areas, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. Langdon and the Pistons’ front office signed Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley, and Paul Reed as free agents and traded for Tim Hardaway Jr.
“The core of the way we thought is we have this young group of players that need to be developed and also need to be complemented with the right players,” Gores said. “I feel really good about the veterans we’ve added. Tobias, who I’ve known for a long time, we have Beasley and Hardaway and Reed that’s come in. I feel very good about the offseason with the veterans.
“We knew these young men were good, they have a lot of potential. All of them. You see (Jaden) Ivey‘s really coming along well. But all of that said, we needed to complement them with the right thing so they could grow properly. I’m pretty excited. That’s how we approached it. We have a core that we believe in and we’ve got the veterans added in.”
The other major move that Gores signed off on during Langdon’s first offseason was the decision to part ways with Monty Williams even though the veteran head coach had five years left on the lucrative contract he signed with Detroit a year ago. Gores has no regrets about approving that coaching change after seeing the way J.B. Bickerstaff has handled the job so far.
“I think J.B.’s doing an incredible job communicating with the players and getting us organized,” Gores said. “I feel good. Everybody knows we have a lot of work to do, but we turned the page and we’re ready to go.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Bucks head coach Doc Rivers shared some positive health updates on Tuesday, telling reporters – including Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – that Gary Trent Jr. will be “fine” after hyperextending his left elbow and may even play on Thursday and that Khris Middleton, who is recovering from surgeries on both ankles, could suit up for a game or two before the end of the preseason.
- Bucks newcomer Taurean Prince spoke this week about the role he expects to play in Milwaukee, expressing that he believes his ability to play power forward “can serve the team very, very well.” Eric Nehm of The Athletic has the details.
- Vincent Collet, the former head coach of the French men’s basketball national team, is reuniting with Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson, according to reporting from L’Equipe (hat tip to Eurohoops). After Atkinson worked under Collet as an assistant coach for the French team over the summer, Collet will reportedly serve as a consultant for Atkinson and the Cavs this season.
- Speaking to James Boyd of The Athletic, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton discussed what he learned from his summer experience with Team USA and explained why he’s so excited about the continuity Indiana has established heading into the 2024/25 season. “We have the same coaching staff, let alone the same group of guys,” Haliburton said. “So, this is really refreshing, really exciting, because it’s less about teaching and more of the detail work and complex stuff and getting to those (stages) quicker. That’s been so refreshing and so fun for me, and I think that’s gonna make us so good moving forward.”