Paul Reed spent last season as the Pistons’ third center, the kind of player whose minutes felt like extra money in the jar. Nice to have, not essential. But the way this summer has unfolded, Reed is suddenly looking less like depth and more like a real answer if Detroit’s frontcourt keeps thinning out.
Right now, if the Pistons had to pick a starting center today, Reed would be the guy. He and Tolu Smith are the only centers on the roster with deals for next season, and that alone has pushed Reed into a far bigger spot than anyone expected a few months ago.
The shift really started in the playoffs, when Reed was the only Pistons center who showed up. That mattered.
His performance made Isaiah Stewart expendable in the team’s eyes, and Detroit moved on from him. Reed didn’t just win that battle because he played better - he also stayed available and came at a fraction of the price.
Stewart had been hurt in back-to-back playoff runs and hasn’t proven he can get through a full season, while his $15 million salary dwarfed Reed’s $5 million.
Then came the Jalen Duren situation, and Reed’s path got even clearer.
Duren’s restricted free agency has turned into a standoff late in the offseason, and it’s reached the point where he’s been threatening through the media to take the qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. That’s a risky move, and I still don’t think it happens.
Duren would be walking away from generational wealth for no real upside, just a $5 million annual gap. Still, the longer this drags on, the more Detroit has to consider bigger options.
If the Pistons decide to trade Duren, Reed could move from backup to starter almost overnight. Replacing Duren with another center of equal value would be close to impossible, which would likely force Detroit to take a different route: elevate Reed again and go find a backup elsewhere, a much easier fix.
That would be a brutal hit to a frontcourt that has already lost depth this summer. And it’s why Reed’s role, once an afterthought, now feels like one of the more important questions hanging over the Pistons.
In Other News...
Jalen Duren's Pistons Standoff Just Became Impossible To Ignore
Mid-September is an uncomfortable place for a negotiation to be sitting, especially when it involves a 22-year-old who made both the All-Star and All-NBA teams last season. Jalen Duren remains without a new deal from Detroit, and the Pistons have been firm enough to believe they have already put forward a fair offer based on what they see as his current market value.
The hold-up has become notable because Duren is not just any restricted free agent lingering on the board. He is the most decorated player to still be unsigned this late, and the sides do not appear to be operating from the same place on what his resume should be worth. Detroit has plenty of reason to admire the ceiling, but enough questions around his playoff performance and the context of those honors to keep this from moving like a straightforward payday. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons May Need To Settle One Ausar Thompson Question Early
The Pistons are looking at Ausar Thompsons next contract with a little more urgency than usual, and for good reason. Detroit would like to get an early extension done if it can, both to reward one of its core young pieces and to avoid letting the situation drift into the kind of restricted free agency mess that can hang over a roster for months.
Thompson still has the kind of appeal that could draw attention around the league, especially with several teams expected to have cap space next summer. But that market can shrink fast, and once it does, the player loses a lot of leverage. For Detroit, the question is whether it makes sense to move now and settle the framework early, or risk letting the process stretch into a tougher negotiation later. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Are Hearing The Same Doubts Again And Cade Changes It
The Pistons did not make the kind of splashy offseason moves that tend to quiet the national skeptics, and that has put them right back in the familiar spot of having to answer questions before the season even starts. Bleacher Report was among the outlets pointing to Detroit as a team that may have taken a step back, a familiar refrain for a franchise trying to turn continuity into momentum and expectations into something more durable.
Cade Cunningham is the reason the conversation around Detroit never stays entirely pessimistic for long. The East has a wide range of plausible outcomes behind the top tier, with several rosters still carrying obvious uncertainty, and that leaves room for the Pistons to press their case as a playoff team rather than another club lumped into the crowded middle. If Detroit is going to change the tone around it, Cunningham is still the player who makes that possible. [Read more 🡒]