Perimeter size a clear priority for Detroit Pistons in Trajan Langdon's first draft

Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon’s first draft haul reflects the reality of today’s NBA — it’s difficult to succeed without talented, two-way wings.

The defending champion Boston Celtics boast a pair of star forwards in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, along with a two-way terror in Derrick White.

The New York Knicks, hours after trading Bojan Bogdanovic and a treasure chest of draft picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Mikal Bridges on Wednesday, signed O.G. Anunoby to a massive five-year, $212.5 million extension. That’s a steep price for two good — albeit non-All-Star — wings, but one the felt they had to pay.

You need size to have a chance against the Tatums and Luka Doncics of the league. It’s why a role player such as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, one of the league’s top best perimeter defenders and a good-enough shooter, signed an extension worth north of $100 million last fall. Those types of players rarely hit free agency — and they’re often developed in-house.

QUICK REACTION: Bobi Klintman is a jack-of-all-trades forward

The Pistons selected G League Ignite wing Ron Holland fifth overall on Wednesday, then followed that by trading up in Thursday's second round to draft Bobi Klintman at No. 37 overall. They both bring length — Holland is 6-7 with a 6-11 wingspan, and Klintman is 6-9 with the same wingspan. Holland is an electric athlete and downhill playmaker, and Klintman can shoot.

Perhaps most importantly, both players defend, which establishes a baseline for what the new front office expects in a prospect. The Pistons are a bigger team than they were on Monday, and it was a priority to add perimeter length entering the draft.

“Any time you can have size at the position, it just helps in today’s NBA,” Pistons executive Michael Blackstone said in a conference call Thursday. “There’s no perfect player out there. But in general, we do try to look for size at the position. It just helps in today’s environment.”

Langdon appears to be approaching a slower route to team-building after inheriting a 14-win team. It’s also a familiar route, as he previously was general manager for a New Orleans Pelicans team that has had great success developing wings over the last few seasons.

Klintman averaged 9.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and shot 44.3% overall, 35.7% on 3-pointers and 79.3% at the free-throw line while playing professionally in Australia last season. A year prior, he shot 36.8% on 3s at Wake Forest.

“Bobi’s a guy who can dribble, pass and shoot, good rebounder, can make plays defensively, his coaches and teammates love him, high IQ, super positive energy,” Blackstone said. “Has all the tools to be a really good NBA player. He’s a versatile, hybrid forward. He can shoot. He has the ability to adjust and play in different environments, good athlete and plays both ends of the floor. We’re excited to get him.”

In Holland and Ausar Thompson — last year's No. 5 overall pick — the Pistons have two elite athletes who also excel as defensive playmakers. If their shots improve — and that’s the big if — the Pistons could have a wing combination capable of matching up against anyone.

Pelicans forwards Herb Jones and Naji Marshall, both poor shooters in college, improved greatly under the tutelage of shot doctor Fred Vinson, now with the Pistons. Along with Trey Murphy, New Orleans has a trio of big wings who led the Pelicans to 49 wins and the eighth seed last season.

Brown and Anunoby were also poor shooters in college who learned on-the-fly in the NBA. Vinson may have his work cut out for him in Detroit, but Langdon is trusting that the process that worked in New Orleans will work here, too. Holland and Klintman, as well as Thompson, are similar to the wings the Pelicans have selected.

SHAWN WINDSOR: Trajan Langdon's belief in Ron Holland with Detroit Pistons is a belief in himself, too

“I don’t think you can ever have enough big-time, elite defenders as long as you can figure out the offensive side,” Langdon said on Wednesday. “I think (Holland’s) super competitive. I think he’s a really hard worker. Not that afraid of a shot, he’s gonna have to work on it but really not that afraid of it. We have somebody in-house that’s really good at developing shooters. He’s young, he’s gonna work. I think he has something he can do at an elite level with elite size and athleticism for his position.”

What happens if they don’t improve as shooters, though? Until one (or both) of Thompson and Holland are capable, it’s tough to envision them playing effective basketball together. But the Pistons are building for the future, and are willing to take the developmental lumps now.

Assuming restricted free agent Simone Fontecchio returns, the Pistons will have at least one player on the wing who can hit 3s at a high level. They’re willing to be patient otherwise. There are two paths for finding Mikal Bridges-like starters — drafting them, or trading for them. The Pistons lack the assets for the latter, so they’re going all-in on the former.

Time will tell if it pays off.

“I think they are similar,” Langdon said of Thompon and Holland. “High compete level and high ability to impact the defensive end. Elite athleticism and size for the position, big-time rebounders. Those guys are hard to find now. I think they can play together, I think they can play on different units, but they might not look great together immediately because they’re young, developing players. That’s not always gonna happen regardless. … They’re gonna develop and hopefully in the future we foresee them playing together and impacting the game at a high level.”

Pistons sign senior guard to two-way deal

Following the conclusion of the second round, the Pistons inked St. John’s senior guard Daniss Jenkins to a two-way deal, a source confirmed to the Free Press.

ESPN initially reported his signing.

The 22-year-old Jenkins stands 6 feet 4 and averaged 14.9 points, 5.4 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals last season while shooting 44.6% overall and 35.4% from 3. He transferred twice, previously spending one year at Iona and two at Pacific.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons prioritize size on perimeter in Trajan Langdon debut