The Pistons have spent much of their offseason locked into Jalen Duren contract talks, but they also had their eyes on adding more scoring. At one point, Benedict Mathurin was floated as a possible target. That idea, though, no longer seems to be in play - and Detroit is better off for it.
Mathurin has real burst as a downhill scorer, but the fit never made much sense for what the Pistons would need from him. Detroit has spent the last two seasons showing exactly what it values: defense first, with enough offense to support it.
Even the team’s best bench pieces have usually won their minutes by guarding well and contributing just enough on the other end. Mathurin doesn’t really match that template.
The biggest issue starts on defense. He has the size and athletic tools to be solid there, but that hasn’t shown up since he entered the league.
For JB Bickerstaff, that kind of profile would be especially tough to stomach, because the problem seems less about ability than it does about effort and focus. That alone makes him a shaky option for a team trying to stay disciplined.
The offensive side isn’t much cleaner. Mathurin has never been an efficient scorer, and last season the numbers got even rougher when he had more chances to run the show.
He shot just 43% from the field and 32% from three across the year. That’s not the kind of production that should make a contender eager to hand him a reserve role, especially when Detroit already moved on from Marcus Sasser for similar reasons.
There’s also the way the league has treated him. Just 13 months after being part of a Finals run with the Pacers, he was traded as a throw-in for Ivica Zubac. Now the Clippers are willing to let him walk for nothing after a 26-game sample last season.
The list of teams still in the restricted free agent mix has shrunk to the Bulls and Pelicans, two rebuilding clubs that can afford to take a swing on his upside. That makes sense for where they are. It doesn’t make much sense for Detroit.
For the Pistons, and for other teams with bigger goals, Mathurin has already drifted into the wrong category: too inefficient, too inconsistent, and not quite reliable enough to trust in either a starting or bench role. Even in a strong defensive environment, that’s a tough sell.
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The approach worked for a while, too, as Detroit kept finding ways to beat Chicago in those late-1980s playoff battles before the balance finally shifted. By 1991, Jordan had adjusted, taking fewer shots but making more of them, and the Bulls turned the tables on the Pistons on their way into a run that changed the leagues power structure. Thomas breakdown is a useful look back at how much of that rivalry was decided by tempo, patience and who could impose their style first. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Suddenly Face A Jalen Duren Decision They Cannot Get Wrong
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So the real issue is not just whether Duren is available, but whether Detroit can line up a credible starter before it ever entertains a deal. Daniel Gafford and Jarrett Allen are among the names that could enter the discussion, and New Orleans has been floated as a logical trade partner, though the Pelicans do not have an obvious quality center to send back. For the Pistons, this is the kind of decision that can shape the next phase of the roster if they get it right, or leave a hole they cannot easily patch. [Read more 🡒]