Pistons' Trajan Langdon Says He 'Can't Give' HC Hire Timeline amid Atkinson Rumors

After being hired as the Detroit Pistons' new President of Basketball Operations in May, Trajan Langdon will now guide the franchise in a head coaching search following Monty Williams' firing.

The Pistons dismissed Williams on Wednesday and now owe the former head coach $65 million. Detroit is now searching for its next coach, but Langdon doesn't yet know how quickly the team will find one.

"I can't give you a timeline," Langdon said at his introductory press conference on Friday, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

While he has no timeline yet, Langdon does have an idea of what he's looking for in the team's next head coach.

"I think somebody who is a really good communicator is important," Langdon said, per the Detroit Free Press' Ahmad Garnett. "Somebody who is a good collaborator is important. And I don't mean just with the front office, I mean with (the) performance team, I mean with our nutritionist, with our mental skills coach, I mean there has to be collaboration throughout this organization at all times. So we're aligned."

He also recognized that the next coach will need to be willing to buy into the rebuild and help develop Detroit's young roster.

"When I think somebody who is really good into development and is passionate about it, we talked about our young players, our young core, and they are good young men, but they're talented," Langdon said. "So we have to have somebody who has the patience but also has the desire to the players and not skip steps. So those are some of the qualities that we're looking for a new head coach."

The Pistons are still early into their coaching search, but they reportedly have plans to interview Dallas Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney, Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego and former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

Another possible candidate could be Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson as NBA insider Marc Stein reported Friday that he is "gaining steam" for the role.

The Pistons are one of just two teams left without head coaches—the other being the Cavaliers. Borrego and Atkinson have both been linked to Cleveland, so Detroit would likely have to act swiftly if it wants to hire either of those candidates.