Since the 2015-16 season, the Pistons’ best record is the 44-38 championship in 2024-25. Detroit has won twice the victory since last season. They became the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Despite losing to the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, the Pistons are optimistic about their future. General Manager Tajan Langdon recently spoke with Hunter Patterson sports. Langdon shares his beliefs about the young core established by Detroit. He is unwilling to trade multiple players to gain All-Star talent. Detroit wants to see its young players grow together.
What is the ceiling of the Piston’s young core?
Trajan Langdon says Pistons’ patience with young core
– REALGM (@realgm) August 27, 2025
The Pistons have been building a roster in the NBA Draft for the past four to five seasons. They landed the basis of the lineup in the 2021 NBA Draft. Detroit chose Cade Cunningham from Oklahoma with the No. 1 draft pick. In 2024-25, Cunningham was named first-time All-Star and third-team All-NBA. There is no doubt who is the star player in the Detroit roster. However, they played some exciting young talent with the All-Star PG.
At the fifth pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, the Pistons chose Jaden Ivey. Charlotte picked Jalen Duren with the 13th pick, but he was traded to Detroit on draft night. In addition, the team has Ron Holland, Osar Thompson, Marcus Suther and Isaiah Stewart. When Pistons and Athletics were on his general manager, Trajan Langdon, talked about his belief in the young core of Detroit. He told Hunter Patterson.
“I don’t think we really know who our players can be at this point. I just think it’s too early to really understand the best way to follow the well-known air pedals right now. So we will try to be patient with this and keep our young people growing. ”
Detroit wants to see Jaden Ivey become the player who averages over 20 points per game. He could be the kind of player of the Pistons. Due to injuries, he played only 30 games in 2024-25. If Ivy can play a few more goals per game, it’s easy to get over 20 points per game. Another player the Pistons want to see is Jalen Duren. The big man has averaged doubles in Detroit in the past two seasons.
However, his offensive skills are lacking. Duren is a center, but he has little to no floor spacing he provides for Detroit. If he can develop a consistent jump shot, Duren could be the future All-Star. Ausar Thompson is another young prospect that the Pistons believe in. Detroit’s second year SF showed growth. Ultimately, Ron Holland was a rookie in 2024-25, but was a true contributor to the Pistons on the bench. Detroit favors keeping young cores together and being patient until they take action.
