When the news first broke that the Detroit Pistons had traded Isaiah Stewart, my first thought was that a deal for Jalen Duren would be announced soon after.
Oops.
After the Pistons unceremoniously salary dumped Stewart to the Grizzlies, it seemed inevitable that Duren would be signed to a long-term deal, as surely the Pistons wouldn’t have dealt Stewart until they had their starting center in place.
Oops.
We are now less than a week from training camp and Duren has reportedly turned down the Pistons best offer, leaving them with few options.
Detroit may have gotten ahead of themselves when they traded Stewart, a move they may already regret as things go from bad to ugly with Duren.
The Pistons propped up their offseason on a shaky foundation
The Pistons clearly had some goals this offseason: add shooting, check. Extend Ausar Thompson, check. Sign Jalen Duren. It’s that last bit of nagging business that is holding the offseason hostage, but it’s also the one Detroit built their plans upon.
There is some cliche about chickens and counting them or something.
Detroit carried out their offseason plans as if Duren were already signed, making moves for John Collins, Isaiah Joe, Taurean Prince and Gary Harris, and most importantly, sending their backup center to Memphis.
Everyone just kept slotting Duren into that starting role while ignoring that if he wasn’t there, they only have Paul Reed and Tolu Smith at center.
If the Pistons still had Beef Stew, they’d be in a little better position here, as they’d at least have a short-term backup plan and a little depth.
As it stands, they seem to have neither and will be stuck with a few bad choices.
The Pistons don’t have an easy way out of this mess
The Pistons can increase their offer to one that doesn’t disrespect Duren, a 22-year-old who couldn’t average 10 points per game in the playoffs. I’m sure there’s a number they could hit to soothe his ego, but overpaying a guy who is now unhappy with the team is not a great option.
Detroit could try and find an emergency trade for Duren, but the clock is ticking on that, and since the rest of the league has long concluded their business, there may not be palatable offers out there.
It’s limited even more by the fact that the Pistons would almost have to bring back a center in the deal unless they plan to play a ton of small ball with Collins.
The Pistons could let Duren just take the qualifying offer, but then you have an unhappy center going into camp who expects to be in trade rumors all season (he’d have a no-trade clause on top of it) and is playing for his next deal on some other team, not yours.
None of those options are great, but Detroit is fresh out of them after they leapt early this offseason on the Stewart trade before they had the Duren deal in hand.
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