If you look at the Detroit Pistons’ roster from five years ago, you’ll see that not a single player from it is still in Detroit.
The Pistons hope that is not the case five years from now, as they have assembled an impressive core of young talent in Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart.
Will this be the group to finally lead them to the sustained success that has eluded them for more than a decade?
It would be easy to just pencil these five in as the starting lineup of the future, but chances are that the Detroit Pistons will have made some changes and additions by the time five years rolls around.
Players like Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks, Killian Hayes, Marvin Bagley III, Monte Morris and Isaiah Livers will almost certainly be gone, but the core will be entering their primes.
Here is what the dream starting five for the Detroit Pistons could look like in the year 2028, with a few changes.
The dream starting five for the Detroit Pistons five years from now
Center: Jalen Duren
Age in 2028: 24
It’s wild to think about, but Jalen Duren will only be 24 years old five years from now, likely just entering the prime of his career.
He’s already a rebounding machine with elite athleticism, but hopefully, by then he will be even more effective in the pick-and-roll, and most importantly, improved on the defensive end.
Duren needs to start evolving into the defensive anchor for a team that was 28th in defense last season. If that starts happening soon, he could very well be one of the best bigs in the game in five years.
The two-big experiment should be well over by then with the Detroit Pistons surrounding Duren with more complementary players.