Speaker 1: Thirty five after the hour. Welcome back Exus and Bros.
Speaker 1: Across the great state of Michigan. Wherever it is you
Speaker 1: may be listening. Thank you, Cadillac, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Holland Pittoski, Charlavoy, Lancing,
Speaker 1: Traverse City, or streaming us live on Facebook, YouTube and X.
Speaker 1: We appreciate it very much. I don't think there is
Speaker 1: a writer. I don't think there's a media member who
Speaker 1: know the Pistons better than our next guest, Keith Langloy,
Speaker 1: who I known for a long long time with great
Speaker 1: work at the Open Press, but now is the editor
Speaker 1: for Detroit Pistons dot com. You can follow him on
Speaker 1: Twitter at Keith Underscore Langloy. He was at the press
Speaker 1: conference yesterday. I caught him before he headed out to
Speaker 1: his office and I said, can you join us tomorrow
Speaker 1: and give us a few moments to get some expertise?
Speaker 1: And he was kind enough to do that. Keith, We
Speaker 1: appreciate it very much. I know it's early, but great
Speaker 1: stuff is always on Detroit Pistons dot com. What was
Speaker 1: your takeaway from Trajan Langdon's press conference yesterday. What's the
Speaker 1: thing that stood out to you most.
Speaker 2: Consistent with what he said after this season ended that
Speaker 2: as unexpected and as delightful as it was to go
Speaker 2: from fourteen to forty four wins, the distance are not
Speaker 2: yet at a point where he's comfortable saying I know
Speaker 2: exactly what I have on this roster, and therefore I
Speaker 2: know exactly what we need to complete our team. And
Speaker 2: you know, the question I asked him, one of the
Speaker 2: questions I asked in yesterday was, you know, the the
Speaker 2: recent Orlando Memphis trade where Orlando, a team that at
Speaker 2: least on the surface looks like they're at a similar
Speaker 2: stage with the distance just sent for future number one
Speaker 2: draft picks and a very lightly protected the top two
Speaker 2: protected pick swap to Memphis for a guy who's never
Speaker 2: been an All Star does Undane. So what Trajan said
Speaker 2: to that was, yeah, well, you know, we're open to that.
Speaker 2: But if as long as the player isn't too expensive
Speaker 2: and doesn't limit our future optionality and doesn't hinder the
Speaker 2: development of the players who have in a roster, we'd
Speaker 2: be we'd you know, we'd we'd be all in for that. Well,
Speaker 2: a dozen Danes got over one hundred and sixty million
Speaker 2: coming four more years and and and you know, the
Speaker 2: fundamental difference between Orlando and the Pistons is Orlando knows
Speaker 2: exactly what their young core is. They've got Franz Wagner
Speaker 2: and Jalen Suggs on long term contract extensions already, and
Speaker 2: they know for with certainty that Paulo Banker was joining him.
Speaker 2: So that's their three. It doesn't have Kate Cunningham for sure.
Speaker 2: They know that Jade and Notty looked like he was
Speaker 2: taking his spot, as you know, as the clear number
Speaker 2: two guy, and then he goes down. And at that
Speaker 2: almost at the same time he went down, Jalen Duran
Speaker 2: and Asar Thompson really stepped up their games. Durn had
Speaker 2: a you know, if they're kind of a sluggish first
Speaker 2: twenty five games of the year, then took off. Sar Thompson,
Speaker 2: you know, missed a bunch of well, he missed all
Speaker 2: of last summer in the first month or so of
Speaker 2: the season as he returned from from the blood cloud
Speaker 2: diagnosis and then you know he's still working himself back
Speaker 2: into shape and all that. But so they've got those
Speaker 2: three young guys, They've got Ron Holland, they've got Isaiah Stewart.
Speaker 2: The Pistons aren't just they're about a year behind Orlando
Speaker 2: as far as firmly identifying what their core is is
Speaker 2: going forward. And I think that's part of his calculation.
Speaker 2: And I think maybe in the year from now they'll
Speaker 2: build in a different place. At that point, Ivy and
Speaker 2: durn will be either fined to the extensions based on
Speaker 2: what they did in here for or they will be
Speaker 2: entering restricted free agency. And so you know, in the NBA,
Speaker 2: I've always said nothing is more restrictive than restricted the agency.
Speaker 2: Distance will be in the driver's seat to retain their services,
Speaker 2: but you know they'll have they'll just have a clearer
Speaker 2: idea of of what the what the number is for
Speaker 2: those guys and how to build out going forward. So
Speaker 2: long story short, that was my takeaway, you know, and
Speaker 2: he and he all but said, you know, he said,
Speaker 2: we're not going to be super aggressive. Well, internal growth
Speaker 2: is going to be the area we improve the most.
Speaker 2: So you know that that was it's pretty clear he's
Speaker 2: he's not The Pistons aren't probably not going to be
Speaker 2: in the headline grabbing acquisition mode this summer.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's interesting you bring up Orlando, and I think
Speaker 1: it was a great question, and I mean that, and
Speaker 1: yet t Try was better than Orlando last year record wise.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yes, but Orlando had major injuries. They've looked at
Speaker 2: both bank Caro and Wagner missed a lot of time,
Speaker 2: and Sugs just when, just when those two guys were
Speaker 2: getting back and they were starting to round in the form,
Speaker 2: they beat the Pistons and there it was right around
Speaker 2: the holidays down in Orlando, and then then Suggs went
Speaker 2: out to the season and things kind of fell apart.
Speaker 2: But if those three guys are healthy with being there,
Speaker 2: they are, you know, and I think if you pay
Speaker 2: attention to the Las Vegas betting markets, Las Vegas has
Speaker 2: already pretty much stamped Orlando as a top four team
Speaker 2: in the East next year with better odds who would
Speaker 2: come out of the East and the Pistons have right now.
Speaker 2: So that's a I think everybody kind of acknowledges the
Speaker 2: talent on that roster, and if they stay healthy, they've
Speaker 2: got the they're going to start gaining some traction.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's a fair point. No question is valid.
Speaker 1: I would remind people that, you know, as you've already said,
Speaker 1: Jaden Ivy was hurt Sar Thompson missed a lot of time.
Speaker 1: Isaiah Stewart was hurt. It's not like other teams didn't
Speaker 1: have it and Detroit didn't have to deal with it.
Speaker 1: But you're right about Orlando and their young core. Keith Langloy,
Speaker 1: Detroit Pistons Dot Com editor, joining us here on X's
Speaker 1: and bros. You brought up they're not going to be
Speaker 1: super aggressive and I heard that, and you know, chips
Speaker 1: in the middle of the table and expecting the young
Speaker 1: guys to grow. I'm fine with that personally. I don't
Speaker 1: know where the angst comes from where people feel like
Speaker 1: this team needs to do something, and do something now
Speaker 1: in free agency when I don't see the free agent
Speaker 1: take Kyrie Irving off the table because he's got the
Speaker 1: extension they're not getting Lebron James. Okay, give me the guy,
Speaker 1: is what I ask people. Give me the guy who's
Speaker 1: going to be that difference maker as a free agent
Speaker 1: that proves to you this team is in it to
Speaker 1: win it instead of resigning Malik Beasley and or Tim Hardaway,
Speaker 1: who's that guy that you want them to get. I
Speaker 1: don't think the free agent is there. I mean, I
Speaker 1: like Miles Turner, a lot, but I'm not sure the
Speaker 1: free agent is there. What is it this team could
Speaker 1: do in the offseason that might turn that dial a
Speaker 1: little bit closer toward the witching hour than anything else.
Speaker 2: You know, I think, Look, I think I think a
Speaker 2: lot of fans see the Pistons at point B and
Speaker 2: they want to see him get to point C. And
Speaker 2: Trajan Langon is sitting You're thinking, to win a championship,
Speaker 2: we've got to get to point G or H. You know.
Speaker 2: So the injuries that have affected the East the right
Speaker 2: that the Pistons were the sixth seed, We've had three
Speaker 2: calamitous injuries to to star players on three of the
Speaker 2: five teams that finished ahead of the Piston. So, you know,
Speaker 2: I think it's the logical event. Say that it's wide open,
Speaker 2: let's go for it. But is the goal to be
Speaker 2: is the goal in next year or two years or
Speaker 2: three years to be the best team in the Eastern Conference?
Speaker 2: Or is the goal to in two years from now
Speaker 2: in a span of five years, from two years from
Speaker 2: now to six or seven years from now? Is the
Speaker 2: goal to have a team that can reasonably compete for
Speaker 2: a championship. So if the goal is to get out
Speaker 2: of the East with with a fifty two win team
Speaker 2: and you know, be served up as a sacrificial lamb
Speaker 2: to Oklahoma City whoever comes out of the West. Then
Speaker 2: I guess pushing all your tips in right now might
Speaker 2: be the advisable path you can make incremental gains. He's not.
Speaker 2: He wants be set over and over again. His goal
Speaker 2: is sustainable success. So that means you were not going
Speaker 2: to you know, first of all, you mentioned Miles Turner. Yeah,
Speaker 2: he'd be a great ad sistance. He's going to a
Speaker 2: minimum unless he gives a hometown discount to stay in Indiana,
Speaker 2: He's going to cost thirty million dollars a year. The
Speaker 2: Phistess don't have a thirty million dollars in cap state.
Speaker 2: They couldn't get him and as a conventional free agent
Speaker 2: if they wanted to, And the only other way to
Speaker 2: get him would be signing trade. And do you really
Speaker 2: think Indiana is going to comply with their division rivals
Speaker 2: on an no. So there is with the Pistons, you know,
Speaker 2: you can look at a cap sheet and say, well,
Speaker 2: they're going to have cap stays. They're going to choose
Speaker 2: to operate as a team above the cat because that's
Speaker 2: the best way they can do the moves they need
Speaker 2: to make. And I will maintain that the most significant
Speaker 2: offseason moves they're going to make if if it works out,
Speaker 2: and I expected will will be retaining Malik Beasley and
Speaker 2: he's going to cost a lot more than the bargain
Speaker 2: contract he signed last year, one year, six million dollars deal.
Speaker 2: So yeah, and I think they'll make some moves around
Speaker 2: the edges. I wouldn't be surprised if they do a
Speaker 2: trade that maybe better balances the roster. You know, I
Speaker 2: know a lot of people. If you ask what they need,
Speaker 2: it would be, you know, a true stretch five or
Speaker 2: a guy who can toggle between power forward and center
Speaker 2: and legit, you know, above average three point shooter. Those
Speaker 2: guys don't go on trees. I'm sure Trajan Langton would
Speaker 2: love dad one of those two. If you can get one,
Speaker 2: maybe that's a move. But yeah, I think there are
Speaker 2: moves around the edges. But I fully agree with him. Look,
Speaker 2: we saw the in season improvement that Jalen Duran and SR.
Speaker 2: Thompson Nayden, those guys aren't done during still twenty one
Speaker 2: star Thompson is twenty two. Those guys are going to
Speaker 2: get better. Kate Cunningham is still going to get better,
Speaker 2: Jade and Ivy is going to get better. That is
Speaker 2: unquestionably the biggest likely area of season overseason improvement for
Speaker 2: that team. As they're young guys. I believe there's eight
Speaker 2: of them. Isaiah Stewart and Marcus as are twenty four.
Speaker 2: All the rest of them are younger than that. Those
Speaker 2: eight guys are going to get better and that's the
Speaker 2: biggest driver of season overseason progress or the Pistons.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know this because you've covered so many different
Speaker 1: teams before you became Detroit Pistons dot Com editor. What
Speaker 1: is what's wrong with having the young guys grow together,
Speaker 1: win together, experience the hard losses together. We saw that,
Speaker 1: you know, with the Tigers in eighty three to eighty four.
Speaker 1: We've seen that with the Lions so far. We've seen
Speaker 1: that with the Pistons. We saw with the Pistons in
Speaker 1: this franchise before. The young guys you're expecting to get better.
Speaker 1: But there's a reason you expect them to get better
Speaker 1: is because they're really good right now and you expect
Speaker 1: them to make another step. That's a really good problem
Speaker 1: to have and a good thing to expect. My question
Speaker 1: to you would be about Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway, Junior
Speaker 1: Dennis Shrewder. How likely is it that all three come back?
Speaker 1: How would you prioritize them in the need for this team?
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, I don't think it's likely that all
Speaker 2: three come back because it's the heavy liston you know.
Speaker 2: I mean, here's the thing I would I would rank
Speaker 2: it this way, and likely it's coming back be easily
Speaker 2: one Hardaway to Shorter three. Sure. And the reason I
Speaker 2: say Shorter three is even though he's a very important
Speaker 2: player by seasons, then they got him because they were
Speaker 2: without Ivy. So if you bring back, if you bring
Speaker 2: back Beasley, now you've got in your back where you've
Speaker 2: got Kate Cunningham, you've got Jade and Ivy, You've got
Speaker 2: him in the league easily. Would they love to have
Speaker 2: Dennis Shuter? Sure? But is there going to be another
Speaker 2: team that has a lot greater need for what Dennis
Speaker 2: Shuter can be and therefore was willing to commit and
Speaker 2: has more resources to commit to Dennis Shutter? I would
Speaker 2: think though, I mean, if he comes back, he's your
Speaker 2: number four guard more than likely. You can quibble, but
Speaker 2: Beasley's the guy who made three hundred and nineteen three pointers.
Speaker 2: They want him back. The three pointer is a huge weapon.
Speaker 2: Ivy's a guy who's going to play thirty minutes the game.
Speaker 2: Kate's gonna play thirty five. You know, you can get
Speaker 2: a little bit creative because Kate has forward size. You
Speaker 2: can play three of those guys together sometimes. So I
Speaker 2: guess you could make the case that, like we can,
Speaker 2: we can squeeze in, you know, twenty five to thirty
Speaker 2: minute role for Shuter as well, and maybe that's what
Speaker 2: they do. I don't. I don't know, but I just think,
Speaker 2: you know, I mean, Milwaukee's without Damian Lillard. Now Milwaukee,
Speaker 2: he could Shuter could probably walk into the starting lineup
Speaker 2: in Milwaukee. If if that's if the Bucks can figure
Speaker 2: out how you know, everybody's got a mid level exception.
Speaker 2: The Bucks are over the aprons, so it won't be
Speaker 2: the full mid level. But I just don't think again,
Speaker 2: if the distance, if you look at how they have
Speaker 2: to allocate their resources, they need easily back, they guys
Speaker 2: think they've got to prioritize him. And beyond that, I
Speaker 2: don't think. I don't think the next the next tool
Speaker 2: in their bag will be enough to outbid other teams
Speaker 2: who who will use the first tool in their bag
Speaker 2: to get shorter because they'll have a more critical need
Speaker 2: for what he can offer.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it makes sense. Keith Langloyd joining us on the
Speaker 1: Lindsay Hunter Foundation guest line. Last thing from you. I
Speaker 1: really impressed you. You had mentioned some of the younger
Speaker 1: guys and making that step. We're super impressed with with
Speaker 1: Kate Cunningham. I'd like him to treasure the basketball a
Speaker 1: little bit more, but you think he can get better.
Speaker 1: Their front court of Durham and Stewart, how capable are
Speaker 1: they of expanding their game? Do you think to being
Speaker 1: more of an offensive threat.
Speaker 2: I don't. I think they're capable. Look they're they're Durham
Speaker 2: especially is very young. I think that if you ask
Speaker 2: Trajan Langdon what you wanted would he want to see
Speaker 2: from Durham, I don't think he'd say. I don't think
Speaker 2: first time as list would be expanding his offensive game
Speaker 2: and especially not you know, seeing them drift out as
Speaker 2: the three point and I think he'd say, continue to
Speaker 2: get better as a room protector, or he took a
Speaker 2: major step last year, continue to get better in transition
Speaker 2: running the floor, continue to get better at pick and
Speaker 2: roll defense. Uh, awareness of you know, of an offensive spacing,
Speaker 2: so we're not giving up you know, walk injuries and
Speaker 2: that type of stuff. Look, Durham became I think during
Speaker 2: by the end of the season in mid its twenty
Speaker 2: five games in. You know, there was a lot of
Speaker 2: grumbling about him and what do the consistions do about
Speaker 2: this position going forward? I think by the end of
Speaker 2: the season he was a top ten center in the
Speaker 2: league at age twenty one. And you know, I'm sure, Matt,
Speaker 2: you've been around a long time too. You've heard it
Speaker 2: always takes the big guys a little bit longer in
Speaker 2: the NBA. There. You know, they're they're they're the quarterback,
Speaker 2: They're the spine of the defense. They've got to see
Speaker 2: everything happening. They've got to be barking out. They've got
Speaker 2: to be barking out signals. They've got to run. You know,
Speaker 2: guards don't have to run from baseline to baseline. Centers do.
Speaker 2: It's a demanding position. He came into the league as
Speaker 2: an eighteen year old. Three years in he's twenty one
Speaker 2: going on twenty two. You know, you've got to be
Speaker 2: a little bit patient, but I think if it comes
Speaker 2: to there'll be a time when they'll ask him to
Speaker 2: spread his wings a little bit offensively. But right now,
Speaker 2: what his values of the offenses is that that you know,
Speaker 2: the vertical threat he poses as a thick and roll
Speaker 2: guy with Kate Cunningham, who's got you know, very good
Speaker 2: feel for that. That that's a that's a really valuable
Speaker 2: weapon in this day and age because it you know,
Speaker 2: there's the term they uses it creates gravity. The defenses
Speaker 2: have to have to respect that drift towards him. That
Speaker 2: creates the crease that gives hunting in the room to operate,
Speaker 2: and then you got easily and hardaway and those guys
Speaker 2: in the perimeter stretching the defense out the other way. So,
Speaker 2: you know, a long that's a long winded answer, but
Speaker 2: I don't think if if what you're getting at here
Speaker 2: is are we going to see him? You know, they're
Speaker 2: going to start dumping the ball into him in the
Speaker 2: low post and letting him go to work. And now
Speaker 2: they're going to use him the way they use him
Speaker 2: as a as a facilitator. He's that's another one of
Speaker 2: his really you know, developing skills is dribble handoff huge
Speaker 2: part of an offense in the water, an NBA offense.
Speaker 2: You know, get better as a as a screener, and
Speaker 2: just continue to polish those skills and then you know
Speaker 2: there'll come a time when they'll let him do a
Speaker 2: little bit more. But I think they're going to drill
Speaker 2: down on what his strengths already are and amplify those.
Speaker 1: Makes sense, great insight. Really appreciate it. We wait to
Speaker 1: break it down, Keith, really appreciate it. Thanks for joining
Speaker 1: us on the Lindsay Hunter Foundation guest Line. Have a
Speaker 1: great week and we'll keep reading your stuff and keep
Speaker 1: educating the listeners based on what you write and how
Speaker 1: you follow the Pistons so closely. Thanks again for the time.
Speaker 2: Have a great day, Bud, Thanks man anytime.