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Changes are coming to Detroit — which, considering the team has had the worst record in the NBA for consecutive years, is something that's called for.
The Pistons made it official on Friday, Trajan Langdon is in as the team's new President of Basketball Operations.
"Trajan is an accomplished front office executive with an impressive track record," Pistons owner Tom Gores said in a statement announcing the hire. "He's worked his way up and seen it all as a player, scout and executive. He's been successful at every level. I'm confident he will very swiftly get us to the standard of excellence I expect from every business."
The first change under Langdon: Current GM Troy Weaver is out, reports James L. Edwards III and Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The Pistons are in serious talks to hire Pelicans executive Michael Blackstone as the No. 2 decision-maker under Langdon in Detroit's front office, league sources said. Blackstone has served as the Pelicans' VP of basketball administration over the last several seasons. He also spent time as an assistant GM with the Hawks and executive director of basketball operations with the Cavaliers... Detroit did offer Weaver, who still has years left on his contract, an off-site scouting role to remain with the organization in a much smaller capacity, but he declined the position, per sources.
Weaver came on board as GM in 2020 and was tasked with a teardown and rebuild of the Pistons, but it had never gone according to plan. Weaver's drafting and talent evaluation was hit-and-miss, and the team never seemed to take steps forward. There are positives, he drafted Cade Cunningham, who had a breakout season and is a cornerstone for whatever Langdon builds. There also are good prospects such as Isaiah Stewart, Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren. However, while he missed the draft (taking Killian Hayes over Tyrese Haliburton), the oddest decisions were adding win-now free agent decisions such as Jerami Grant and Bojan Bogdanovic, among others. It left the team with an odd mix of players — veterans who needed touches, taking them away from players who needed to develop.
Weaver did leave the books clean, and Detroit has nearly $60 million in cap space this summer, but they need to think slow and steady, not short-term. Don't start pushing for a play-in spot now. Langdon needs to let that happen naturally. He knows that, but how long will Gores continue to be patient?
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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