The Detroit Pistons didn’t exactly light up the offseason, but that might be the point.
From the outside, it can look like a quiet summer for a team that wanted two big things: a secondary scorer next to Cade Cunningham and a new contract for Jalen Duren. Neither has happened yet. Still, the Pistons may have handled the summer with more purpose than the noise suggests, and the person steering it all is president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon.
Detroit’s approach has been measured, not flashy. That stood out last season too, when the Pistons didn’t make a splash in the offseason but still rolled into a strong regular season, finishing as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference before a playoff run that ended against the Cleveland Cavaliers. That backdrop is why the search for another scorer felt so important heading into this year.
The biggest addition so far is John Collins, who signed a three-year, $51 million deal after spending time with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons also added depth and shooting through trades, bringing in Isaiah Joe from the Oklahoma City Thunder, Taurean Prince from the Milwaukee Bucks and guard Gary Harris.
None of it came with much fanfare, but the pieces fit a clear idea. Langdon has added more spacing and more shooting, and Joe is the clearest example of that. He knocked down 42% of his three-point tries for Oklahoma City in 71 appearances last season.
That patient style has shown up in the Duren situation too. Duren is seeking a maximum contract, while Detroit has been unwilling to rush into that kind of commitment. Langdon made that stance clear before the NBA Draft in June.
“If it’s a trade, then it has to be a trade that we feel is worthwhile,” Langdon said before the NBA Draft in June.
“We’re not going to go out and give out too many assets for a player…Not having those assets down the road (can) hamper us in terms of making another move. We’re having internal thoughts and talks every day right now, the closer we get to that time.”
So while plenty of outside voices have spent the summer telling the Pistons what they should do, Detroit has stayed locked in on what it believes it needs to do. Whether that ends up looking like a smart, quiet win won’t be known until the games start.
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Pistons Still Face One Offseason Problem Cade Couldnt Fix
Cade Cunningham did his part this offseason, at least behind the scenes. According to ESPNs Vince Goodwill, the Pistons guard was involved in efforts to sell Detroit to Austin Reaves and to other marquee names like Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard, part of a broader push to raise the rosters ceiling and accelerate the franchises rise.
Instead, Detroit is back to handling the harder, less glamorous business that comes with building a contender from within. The focus has shifted to contract talks with restricted free agent Jalen Duren and an extension for Ausar Thompson, while the front office weighs how far it wants to go on Durens next deal after concerns about his playoff performance. The recruiting pitch may have been strong, but the biggest offseason decision still sits much closer to home. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons And Jalen Duren Are Headed For A Tense Contract Test
The Pistons are entering a familiar kind of offseason pressure point with Jalen Duren, one that has played out around the league before when a young player and his team have to decide whether patience or urgency wins out. The comparison that immediately comes to mind is the Bulls drawn-out situation with Josh Giddey last summer, when the lack of real leverage on the player side left both sides waiting for a deal to come together.
Restricted free agency tends to narrow the path for everybody involved, especially when cap space around the league is tight and the qualifying offer remains a real risk for the player. Giddey eventually landed on a four-year contract in September after holding out, and Duren could end up following a similar route if the Pistons and his camp cant bridge the gap quickly, turning what should be a straightforward retention into a tense test of timing and resolve. [Read more 🡒]