The Jazz may not need any more proof that moving Walker Kessler was the right call, but the Pistons are supplying it anyway.
It has been more than two months since Utah agreed to send Kessler away for two unprotected first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps, and the reason the deal made sense is clearer now. The Jazz were already butting heads with Kessler over his value, so rather than let that situation drag on, they took the opportunity to move him to Los Angeles.
Jalen Duren ended up in a similar conversation with the Lakers. Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that Los Angeles viewed him as a "maximum-salary level player" (subscription required), while also noting that the Pistons were sending "strong signals" that they would either match offer sheets for their center or not cooperate in sign-and-trades.
That’s where Utah’s decision starts to look even smarter. The Jazz lost a young, homegrown center, but they came away with a strong haul and avoided the kind of messy offseason that could have ended with Kessler taking the qualifying offer and betting on himself.
Detroit’s situation is the cautionary tale here. If the Pistons had been willing to work out a sign-and-trade with Los Angeles, the Lakers might have preferred Duren, who is the more proven player and not coming off a season where he played only five games because of injury.
Utah moved quickly once the Lakers’ need for a center became obvious, and that urgency may have given the Pistons a chance to rethink their approach before agreeing to a trade on July 1.
The worst-case scenario for Detroit would be Duren taking his $9.6 million qualifying offer. That would leave the Pistons wishing they had been more open in sign-and-trade talks from the start.
Even if Duren eventually signs a long-term deal with Detroit, there’s still the possibility that the tension from this offseason lingers into the year. That friction could be hard to shake, especially with Duren aware that the Pistons see Ausar Thompson as their second-best player behind Cade Cunningham. How Detroit handles Thompson’s extension could become another problem, too.
Utah avoided that entire chain of headaches with Kessler. The Jazz knew he viewed himself as worth more than their price tag, they got a strong return, and even if he performs well with the Lakers, they can still feel good about the package they brought back. Right now, watching the Pistons deal with Duren only makes that easier.
In Other News...
JB Bickerstaff Now Has A Pistons Problem Fans Will Welcome
JB Bickerstaffs first offseason in Detroit brought the kind of roster makeover that usually signals a team trying to solve a very specific problem. After finishing with the leagues second-best defense last season, the Pistons knew the bigger issue was on the other end, where the offense bogged down in the playoffs and left too much pressure on Cade Cunningham to create. The front office answered by adding more shooting and spacing, giving Bickerstaff a more modern-looking group to work with and, at least on paper, a better chance to keep the floor open.
The catch is that every move to help the offense can tug at the defense, and Bickerstaff now has to manage that tradeoff without losing the identity that got Detroit this far. The roster also looks different on the defensive side after the departures of Isaiah Stewart and Tobias Harris, which makes the balancing act even trickier. For a coach who built his reputation on structure and toughness, the challenge is finding the right blend before the season starts to sort out whether this new mix can hold up on both ends. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Duren May Be Weighing A Risky Bet On His Future
The offseason chatter around Jalen Duren has started to feel bigger than a typical extension conversation, especially after Sacramento reportedly explored a sign-and-trade and Detroit showed no interest in dealing him. Duren also recently met with Pistons GM Scott Perry, and the message from that discussion appears to be that the organization still sees a future with him, even if that future may not require a long-term deal right away.
For Duren, the path to true leverage may be the riskier one. Accepting a qualifying offer would put him on track for free agency next summer, a move that could set up a bigger payday if his market develops the way he hopes. But it also leaves him exposed, with the possibility that a team like the Kings could still try to make a run at him while Detroit weighs whether to keep building around a young center whose next decision could shape both his market and the Pistons' frontcourt plans. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Still Have The Same Cade Cunningham Problem Again
The Pistons are heading into the 2026-27 season with a familiar problem hanging over the roster, and it starts with how much of the offense still has to run through Cade Cunningham. Detroit does not have a deep group of self-created shot-makers behind him, which leaves J.B. Bickerstaff trying to balance development, spacing and enough reliable scoring options to keep the half-court offense from stalling out.
One part of the answer could come from the frontcourt, where the team is hoping to keep Jalen Duren in the fold and squeeze more offense from the rest of the big-man rotation. Detroit is also weighing a stronger lean toward three-point shooting and larger roles for players such as Paul Reed and John Collins, but the broader question remains the same: can the Pistons find enough creation around Cunningham, or will the offense once again be forced to improvise as the roster shifts? [Read more 🡒]