NEW ORLEANS — The Pelicans have hired Nets assistant general manager Trajan Langdon to serve as New Orleans' GM under new executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin, the organization announced Sunday.
Langdon is a former Duke and NBA player who also played professionally in Europe. The 43-year-old has served as Nets assistant GM since 2016 and has helped rebuild Brooklyn into a squad that qualified for the Eastern Conference playoffs as a sixth seed this season after finishing last in the East two seasons earlier.
Langdon interviewed with New Orleans for the top basketball operations job that went to Griffin in mid-April.
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“From the moment I met with Mrs. Benson and her team, it became clear that her commitment to the success of our franchise is absolute,” said Griffin. “This is one more very clear sign of that commitment."
"Trajan is a tremendous talent and shares in our vision of what it means to be a part of the Pelican family, on and off the floor. We are excited to add he and his family to our leadership group as we continue building upon that vision,” Griffin said.
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“We are very pleased to welcome Trajan and his family to the New Orleans Pelicans,” said Pelicans Owner Gayle Benson. “Our priority is to build the best basketball team both on and off the court. This is another positive step that puts our organization in position to be successful.”
When Griffin was formally introduced by the Pelicans, he said he'd received a commitment from Benson to build up the management structure of the club. He has begun doing so by bringing in Langdon, and before that, hiring former Suns executive Aaron Nelson away from Phoenix to oversee injury prevention, rehabilitation, performance and recovery programs.
Langdon comes highly regarded across the league from his time in Brooklyn and San Antonio.
Most recently, he served as the assistant GM for the Nets, where he also was the general manager for the Net's G-league affiliate, and this year he was named the G-league Executive of the Year.
Griffin has known Langdon since they worked together in Cleveland, and an interesting tidbit...Langdon is a native of Anchorage, Alaska. He played his college ball at Duke, and is known as the 'Alaskan Assassin.'
The Langdon pick up comes as the team inexplicably won the NBA Draft lottery, and with it, a chance to pick Zion Williamson, the most hyped college basketball player, since the Pelicans also beat the odds and selected Anthony Davis.
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