Jalen Duren is already paid like a cornerstone. The Detroit Pistons handed him a five-year, $200 million contract because of what he has done at 22 years old and because of what they believe is still coming.
That belief comes with a clear checklist. Duren does not have to become a different player, but he does have to become a more complete one if he’s going to look like a $40 million center.
Right now, the gap between the deal and the production is real. The path to closing it is also pretty obvious.
The biggest issue is that Duren can’t live on one action anymore. In the playoffs, Orlando and Cleveland crowded the lane, loaded up with size, and took away the easiest part of his game. If he was only going to be a roller crashing toward the rim, they were happy to make him disappear.
So the next step is making him a hub, not just a finisher. He has to do more out of the short roll for himself and for others, because that space was there and he didn’t punish teams for giving it to him.
When he catches the ball rolling to the top of the key, he needs to be quicker and more decisive. If defenses are going to sit back the way they did in the playoffs, then he has to make them pay with the mid-range jumper.
He can make that shot. The problem is consistency. It hasn’t been reliable enough to force defenses to change how they play him.
The passing piece matters just as much. Duren was more effective as a passer out of the short roll in his third season, and his assists dropped last year.
Once that part of his game faded, he became easier to scheme against, especially when the games tightened in the playoffs. With more shooting around him and more space to work with, he should be able to get back to finding cutters for dunks, which is something he has shown he can do.
The bottom line is simple: he can’t be one-dimensional. That doesn’t mean he has to start firing away from 3-point range. It does mean he needs more mid-range attempts and more playmaking opportunities when he catches on the move.
The defensive side has its own demands. With Isaiah Stewart gone, Detroit needs more rim protection from Duren, and last season he didn’t even average a block per game. For a starting center who spends so much time around the basket, that number stands out.
That part comes down to consistency and effort, and the Pistons are hoping the slimmer frame he brought into training camp helps. There were times last season when his motor was an issue on that end. He has been useful in pick-and-roll coverage, especially with Ausar Thompson, but he still loses track of rim rotations at times and bites too often on pump fakes.
None of that is out of reach. The tools are there, and the improvements are straightforward enough to imagine. If Duren starts showing them, the conversation around that contract gets a lot quieter.
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There are a few other spots worth watching as the Pistons keep evaluating their options. Jalen Duren is expected to be available, and his presence would add another important layer to the frontcourt mix as Detroit tries to settle into a preseason rhythm. In the backcourt, the competition for the reserve minutes has also started to take shape, with Saben Lee and rookie Ebuka Okorie both trying to make their case while the Pistons continue sorting through early lineup decisions. [Read more 🡒]