It's Monday, Sept. 28, and the Detroit Pistons held media day. Jalen Duren wasn't in attendance because he hasn't signed a contract yet, and basketball operations president Trajan Langdon said he hadn't spoken with the center all summer. If you were hoping for a resolution before Thursday's qualifying offer deadline, it seems even less likely, which is where Anthony Davis comes in.
Marc J. Spears said on ESPN that the Wizards are one of the teams that have expressed interest in a Duren sign-and-trade, along with the Kings, Bucks, and Hawks. He pointed out that the Pistons have been unwilling to engage in those talks. Still, since we're at the start of the season and the bridge between the organization and the center seems ready to collapse, Detroit may be more open to those discussions.
Or at least the front office should consider it, even if just for a minute, rather than letting Duren play out the season on his $9.6 million qualifying offer. The Pistons could still trade him if that happened, but not for a player of Davis' caliber.
You might've just read that and thought you don't want a player of his caliber, since he's 33 and has played only 29 combined games since the Lakers traded him to the Mavericks; that's understandable. But at least one season of Davis may be a better option for Detroit than a version of Duren who already has one foot out the door.
Wizards are interested in a potential Duren sign-and-trade
Davis became eligible to sign an extension with his new team, the Wizards, this summer; however, the front office decided to wait to discuss a potential new deal until during the season. ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the two sides want to see how "the first 20 or so games" go.
At Washington's media day on Monday, AD said that he wants to "go through the season" to see what he can "do at a high level" before discussing an extension with the Wizards.
In other words, it might be better for Washington to trade him (especially since he's healthy), rather than even give him the chance to decline his $62.8 million player option for 2027-28 next summer and hit unrestricted free agency. Turning Davis into a 22-year-old Duren would make more sense for the Wizards' timeline, but they could also prefer to keep Alex Sarr as their starting center.
Still, because there hasn't been a resolution to the Duren saga, it's an idea worth exploring.
Davis is making $58.5 million this season, and depending on what Washington would be willing to take on for Duren (would the Wizards even do $200 million?), it would require moving more than AD and Davis, with Detroit preferably getting another ball-handler in the process.
Anthony Davis could help elevate the Pistons
The main concern about trading for AD is his health, and it's understandable, given his struggles to stay on the court over the last season and a half because of several injuries (he did play 76 games in 2024-25!). He's healthy right now, though, which could help entice Detroit, but it'd have to be willing to take on the never-ending worry that Davis would get hurt.
On top of that, be willing to pay him over $120 million this season and the next (counting his player option), not including, of course, a possible extension. That's quite a commitment, one that I have been against (and I'm still not fond of it), but we're also at a point where Duren accepting his qualifying season is growing more likely.
The Pistons are coming off a 60-win season and a run to the semifinals, where they fell to the Cavaliers in seven games. Rather than build on that momentum, it looks like they'll take a step back this offseason, even more so than other teams in the East.
They've been searching for a co-star for Cade Cunningham, and while they added some scoring help in John Collins and Isaiah Joe this summer, the guard will have to carry the bulk of those responsibilities himself.
Davis, who averaged 25.7 points in his last full season, would command attention away from Cunningham and serve as a defensive anchor on the other end, as he's one of the league's best rim protectors and disruptors.
And the Pistons could look back to AD's time with LeBron in LA to convince them to take a flier on Davis, with Cunningham as an oversized guard, standing at six-foot-six, like LeBron, who commanded the Lakers' offense, exploiting matchups and creating open looks for Davis.
The ball is in Jalen Duren's court
Based on what Langdon said at media day about Duren (he said he will be a Detroit Piston), it doesn't sound like a trade is on the table, even now. The Pistons seem content with their latest offer, and now Duren has to decide what he wants to do.
Detroit has remained committed to keeping Duren, at least for one more season, and while it would be absurd for him to turn down $200 million, that could be what's in the cards.
Trading for Davis would let the Pistons avoid getting to that point (if they do), and only if the Wizards are truly interested in Duren (and his agent isn't trying to use Washington as leverage). At the same time, a trade could still be a roadblock for Detroit's season if AD can't stay on the floor, but it could be either that or a disengaged Duren who already has his bags packed for Sacramento.
It might not be a preferable ending to the Duren chapter (and it wouldn't be). Well, it's also not ideal that the season is about to start while the center's future is still up in the air because he isn't satisfied with $200 million, so there's that.
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