After a catastrophic season, the worst in the history of the franchise with 14 victories for 68 defeats, the management of the Pistons decided to keep Monty Williams, but to modify its organizational chart. Until now, owner Tom Gores relied on a vice president, Arn Tellem, and a GM, Troy Weaver. A formula which ended in failure, and a president will arrive to regain control of recruitment.
One month before the Draft, Yahoo! Sports suggests that there are still four of them competing for the position. They are Trajan Langdon, Scott Perry, Dennis Lindsey and John Hammond. To these four, we must of course add Tim Connelly, the president of the Wolves, but he is under contract and it is not certain that he wishes to leave his post even if the cancellation of the takeover of the franchise has cooled its relationship with the owner.
In the meantime, it’s hard to see a favorite. So there is Langdon, current GM of the Pelicans. Since ending his career, he has climbed the ranks, one by one, and becoming president of the Detroit franchise would be a promotion. For Perry, it would also be a promotion, since he was GM at the Knicks, but also a more “local” choice since he was born in Detroit, and has even been there twice already. He was leader during the 2004 title and that crazy run of six straight conference finals.
At that time, he had Hammond as a colleague, before the latter became a big name in Milwaukee, then today in Orlando. At 69 years old, is he the right choice to bring some pep to the franchise? What is certain is that his project at the Magic was successful, and it was even extended until 2026. Like Connelly, he will have to terminate his contract to join Detroit.
Finally, there is Lindsey, former Jazz GM, now a consultant for the Mavericks. His experience at the Spurs first, then at the Rockets and the Jazz, has always been highlighted. But his CV was tarnished by accusations of racism from a former player during an end-of-season interview. It was 2015, and the NBA investigation had cleared him. But he preferred to take a step back, and for the moment, he preferred to play the role of advisor.
