The Pistons have backed themselves into one of the trickiest questions of their offseason: if Jalen Duren is out, who steps in?
That’s the part of the debate that keeps getting lost. Plenty of people can point to the problem.
Duren’s drop from the regular season to the playoffs was historically shocking, and his price tag is high enough to make Detroit think hard before paying it. But once you decide to move on, the hard part starts.
You still have to replace him.
And that replacement doesn’t have to be another center. Detroit could reshape things around a different kind of personnel group, especially with Cade Cunningham already in place as the franchise centerpiece.
The Pistons also have sharpshooters, defensive specialists and Paul Reed, who is described as a quality big. In theory, that gives Detroit room to explore a sign-and-trade that turns Duren into a high-level player or even multiple pieces that change the team’s identity.
The problem is the same one that keeps hanging over every version of that idea: who exactly is coming back?
Detroit is not operating like a team trying to stockpile future building blocks. It’s a team that just reached 60 wins, and Cunningham is the engine behind it.
The Pistons have increased their win total and advanced a round further in the playoffs in each of the past two seasons. If they pull the wrong lever now, they risk pushing the Cunningham era backward right when it finally reached that level.
Cunningham, at 25, has spent the past five seasons trying to drag the Pistons back into relevance. He led them to their first 60-win season in 20 years and their first playoff series win in 18, and that’s not the kind of leap that comes with a request to wait around for another reset.
Maybe Cunningham would go along with it. He’s known as the kind of teammate who would. But if the return for Duren doesn’t deliver the right complements, Detroit could end up right back where it started.
That’s the bind. The Pistons are trying to avoid more underperformance, and in that process they may need the very center they’re considering moving.
Cunningham remains the only proven shot creator on the roster, and he’s also the only playmaker who averaged more than 3.9 assists per game last season. John Collins’ 13.6 points per game would have ranked third on the Pistons in 2025-26. Duren, meanwhile, put up 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game at 22 years old.
There’s a real case for saying Detroit needs more than what Duren gave them in the playoffs. But at this point in the offseason, the Pistons don’t appear to have a cleaner answer waiting for them.
In Other News...
Pistons Need More Cheap Veterans Like One Key Rotation Surprise
Javonte Green ended up being one of the most useful surprises in Detroit last season, the kind of low-drama rotation piece every contender needs and every cap-strapped team appreciates. He was available every night, brought energy off the bench and gave the Pistons a reliable wing option who could defend, create extra possessions and knock down enough shots to matter, all on a one-year minimum deal that fit neatly into a roster still being built around young talent.
The Pistons brought Green back on another minimum contract, a move that says plenty about how they want to survive the next stage of roster building. As payroll pressure grows, Detroit is going to need more veterans like him, players who can fill real minutes without tying up money or future flexibility, and Green gives them exactly that sort of inexpensive stability while the bigger pieces around him continue to develop. [Read more 🡒]
Cade Cunningham Gets An Early Statement Chance Against The New Look Celtics
Opening night is giving Detroit a real early test, and it comes with the kind of spotlight Cade Cunningham usually wants. The Pistons draw Boston right away, which means the first look at the new roster will not be a quiet one. John Collins, Isaiah Joe, Gary Harris, Taurean Prince and first-round pick Ebuka Okoire all figure into the conversation as Detroit tries to show how its upgraded pieces fit around Cunningham against one of the Easts most familiar measuring sticks.
Boston does not look the same either, with Jaylen Brown out and Paul George and Mitchell Robinson joining the mix around Jayson Tatum. That changes the tone of the matchup and makes the early minutes especially interesting, because Cunningham will be asked to set the standard against a Celtics group still figuring itself out. For Detroit, it is more than just a season opener. It is a chance to see whether the Pistons can make an immediate statement against a contender that has reshaped its own identity. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Look Ready To Contend If They Can Resolve One Big Issue
The Pistons spent the offseason acting like a team that believes its window is open, not one still waiting for the right moment. After a 4-2 playoff loss to the Knicks, Detroit reworked its roster to give Cade Cunningham more help, adding John Collins and Isaiah Joe to improve the offense and deepen the rotation around Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson. It was the kind of targeted reshaping that follows a 60-win season, with the front office clearly trying to turn regular-season momentum into something sturdier in the East.
Jalen Duren remains one of the central reasons that plan still feels unfinished. Detroit has the top-end talent to matter in the conference, but it also has a negotiation that has lingered into late August, leaving one of the rosters biggest questions unresolved as other contenders around the league continue to load up. The Pistons have built enough around Cunningham to look the part, but the final step toward true contention may depend on how they handle the issue still hanging over their young core. [Read more 🡒]