New Detroit Pistons president Trajan Langdon finalizes front office

Two months after hiring Trajan Langdon as president, the Detroit Pistons have finalized their new front office.

Several names on the list have been reported previously, including by the Free Press. Michael Blackstone has been hired as executive vice president of basketball operations, and Dennis Lindsey is senior vice president of basketball operations. Lindsey was initially a candidate for president and previously was a senior advisor for the Dallas Mavericks after 11 seasons with the Utah Jazz.  

“The thing that I needed the most, especially coming into this situation, was just a strategist,” Langdon said in June of Blackstone, who he previously worked with in New Orleans with the Pelicans. “Someone who understands the cap. He has a big-time negotiation background and he’s very systematic and thoughtful in his approach of what we need to do every day, not just from a roster-building standpoint but also from a staffing standpoint. He’s somebody that I trust inherently, if I’m out of the building or I can’t be in a meeting, to execute things that we talk about and keep us moving in the right direction.”

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George David, who had been an associate and assistant general manager under Troy Weaver since 2021, has been promoted to senior VP of basketball administration. Dwane Casey and Eric Tellem, the son of vice chairman Arn Tellem, are also holdovers from the previous regime. Casey will remain in his role as senior advisor, and Tellem has been promoted to VP of player personnel after previously serving as senior director of player personnel. 

JR Holden, who starred alongside Langdon with CSKA Russia, is joining the Pistons as vice president of player acquisition and development. Langdon also spoke highly of Holden, who previously worked with the Pistons in various scouting roles from 2014-18. The former teammates won EuroLeague championships together in 2006 and 2008. 

“JR Holden, I obviously have a longstanding relationship with from us playing overseas for six years,” Langdon said. “I know he understands what winning looks like, he understands the culture and environment that we’re trying to create here. He’s cut his teeth here before with Stan (Van Gundy), in Philly and then the last five years in Brooklyn with Sean Marks, and doing some stuff in the G League. But on the scouting picture, I trust his eye. He’s a diligent worker and I know he’ll bring a lot from the scouting perspective to help us not only now, but going forward.”  

Greg Smith has been hired as vice president of player health and care. He has a background in hockey and previously was the head athletic trainer for the Washington Capitals from 1999-2017. He’s also a co-founder of Pivot Physical Therapy, which has more than 200 locations located along the east coast. 

Mistie Bass-Boyd, a former McDonald’s All-American and Duke standout who won a WNBA Championship in 2014 with the Phoenix Mercury, is executive director of player engagement and basketball operations. In addition, Marshall Smith is the new executive director of basketball strategy and operations, and Cory Schlesinger (no relation to the former Lions fullback) is executive director of sports performance. 

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Bass-Boyd, the daughter of singer Chubby Checker, is a former longtime Nike executive who most recently was the director of team and athlete NBA/grassroots marketing. Smith had been with the Los Angeles Clippers since 2018 and was promoted to director of basketball strategy last season. Schlesinger was an assistant coach and director of basketball health and performance for Texas men’s basketball. 

Gianluca Pascucci is senior director of global scouting and Roderick “RJ” Hunter has been tabbed as executive assistant to the president of basketball ops. Pascucci was most recently a Chicago Bulls scout and has had stops with Minnesota Timberwolves, Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets through 22 years. Hunter was Duke men’s basketball’s director of operations from 2017-24. 

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.