Here are a few photos of Pinus palustris at Houston Botanic Garden in Texas, which just opened in September, 2020. My hand span is 20cm.
Doesn't look a very happy specimen to me! Suspect they planted it too large, and damaged the tap root in doing so. Healthy young specimens are straighter, with more regular branching. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_palustris_regeneration_USDAFS.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LongleafPine.jpg
Tap roots are just part of woody plant root systems that are routinely deformed by careless container culture - a fast growing type of tree can often be leaning over at some point after planting because the entire root system was in a wad when it was installed. Otherwise, it is certainly true that with wood as hard as nails Pinus palustris is hurricane adapted, should not therefore be deformed by exposure to wind when handled properly - during the advent of the European settlement phase in the Orlando, Florida area there were large old growth (200 years plus) examples present that had survived hurricanes for all that time. (Only of course for every one of them to then be cut down).
