The Toronto Raptors locking up Jamal Shead on a three-year, $24 million extension this week doesn’t change much for most teams. For the Pistons, though, it lands like a reminder they’d rather not hear.
Detroit isn’t being haunted by Shead because of some future matchup with Toronto, though that could happen too. The real sting is simpler: Shead is the kind of player the Pistons keep passing on, and the league keeps moving on without them.
The 2024 draft is where the pain starts.
Detroit’s most important pick came at No. 5, when it took Ron Holland. The verdict on Holland is still very much open, so the sharper critique is aimed at the second round, where the Pistons used No. 37 on Swedish forward Bobi Klintman. He was always a longshot, a raw prospect with upside, and two years later he has already washed out of the league and signed to play in Europe.
That alone would be enough to frustrate any front office. But what makes it worse is who was still sitting there.
Right after Detroit took Klintman, Oklahoma City grabbed UC Santa Barbara guard Ajay Mitchell at No. 38.
Mitchell would be starting for half the league right now, and he was arguably the second-best offensive player last season on the No. 1 seed. Then came Jaylen Wells, who finished First Team All-Rookie and profiles as the sort of 3-and-D wing every team wants and Detroit especially needs.
The list keeps going. Oso Ighodaro went 40th and has become a solid backup big for the Phoenix Suns.
Adem Bona went 41st and is doing the same for the 76ers. Picks 42 and 43 haven’t hit yet, but No. 44 brought Pelle Larsson, who just signed a four-year, $60 million deal with the Miami Heat.
Then at No. 45, Houston landed Jamal Shead, a borderline starter and a defensive bulldog who now sits on a bargain contract.
That’s the kind of player Detroit would love to have coming off the bench.
And the second round didn’t stop there. Quinten Post is an underrated stretch-5.
Cam Spencer has quietly become one of the league’s best-kept secrets and an elite shooter. Ariel Hukporti is a solid backup center.
Even Bronny James, the source material notes, is worth an NBA roster spot.
The bigger issue for Detroit is that the need is only getting more obvious.
The Pistons are about to get more expensive as new contracts kick in and raises stack on top of them. Jalen Duren is making $40 million per season.
Ausar Thompson is on a deal worth over $150 million across the next five seasons. Cade Cunningham is already on a max contract.
That means Detroit can’t keep missing on cheap, useful talent. The roster needs players who are affordable, dependable, and productive in specific roles.
Buying that kind of help in free agency costs a premium. Hitting on it in the second round is where the real value lives.
The Pistons haven’t done enough of that lately. Chaz Lanier got minutes last season because of his shooting, but he still isn’t a locked-in rotation piece. Daniss Jenkins has been their one real success story in that lane, and he was technically undrafted.
So when you look at a player like Shead - or Mitchell, or Wells, or any of the other names Detroit passed by - the lesson is plain. The Pistons need more players who can help without crushing the cap. Otherwise, building the kind of team that can truly support Cunningham, Duren and Thompson gets a lot harder.
And right now, Jamal Shead is exactly the type of player they keep missing.
In Other News...
Pistons Just Made Their Biggest Bet On Cade Cunningham's Supporting Cast
Jalen Durens new deal gives Detroit a clear sign of how seriously the Pistons are treating the roster around Cade Cunningham. After a period of restricted free agency talks, the young center is in on a five-year contract that puts him among the highest-paid players at his position and locks in another core piece as the team keeps building around its franchise guard.
The structure matters as much as the commitment, because Detroit is still trying to balance ambition with flexibility while it fills obvious needs like floor spacing and secondary ballhandling. Durens deal gives the Pistons a major frontcourt investment, and now the front office has to keep threading the needle as it tries to turn a promising nucleus into a team that can actually relieve some of the burden on Cunningham. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Duren Just Sent Pistons Fans A Message They Needed
Jalen Durens new deal gives the Pistons something they badly needed: clarity. The young big man has locked himself in with Detroit on a long-term contract extension, and in doing so, he made it clear the franchise still has one of its most important pieces in place as it keeps building around its young core.
The bigger message, though, was about where his head is at. Duren pushed back on the talk that he wanted out of Detroit and said the speculation was off base, adding that hes committed to the city and the fans. He also looked back at his own play last season and said he expects more from himself, which is the kind of accountability Detroit has been waiting to hear. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Duren Commitment Comes With One Big Pistons Question
Jalen Durens restricted free agency finally gave way to the kind of long-term commitment the Pistons had been aiming for, even if the path there was anything but smooth. After a prolonged negotiation that reportedly left him feeling disrespected by the early offers, Duren agreed to a five-year, $200 million deal and publicly reiterated his commitment to Detroit, a notable development for a team trying to keep its core together while navigating the realities of the 2023 CBA and a roster that still has to make cleaner sense on the floor.
The bigger issue now is not whether Duren is part of the future, but how the Pistons build around him. He already acknowledged the need to improve after a humbling postseason performance, and Detroit has plenty to sort through as it balances talent, fit and cap constraints. Durens contract solves one piece of the puzzle, but it also raises the next question the front office has to answer: what does the rest of the roster need to look like to make this investment work? [Read more 🡒]