There have been several twists and turns in the Jalen Duren saga, but the Detroit Pistons have are nearing a point where they will have to consider a trade.
We aren’t there yet, as deadlines are deadlines for a reason, and the Pistons and Duren still have a few days to work something out, though recent reporting makes this standoff seem less about the money and more about Duren feeling disrespected.
Again, I won’t believe he’ll take the qualifying offer or get traded until it happens, so there is still a chance Duren is back in Detroit next season.
But let’s also be real here: There is a chance that he isn’t, in which case, the Pistons need a Plan B.
Circling back to a previous trade attempt with New Orleans
According to the Third Apron Podcast, the Pistons were one of the teams that aggressively pursued Trey Murphy III at the start of the offseason.
They were put off by New Orleans’ asking price, which was reportedly in the range of 3-4 first-round picks, which is absurd for a guy who is not a superstar. TMIII is a very good player, and I’d love to have him, but that’s a Giannis trade package, not one for a 3 and D wing who has never been on a good team.
But the Pistons could now circle back with a new perspective and a new offer that included Jalen Duren and given that Pelicans’ GM Troy Weaver was the guy who drafted Duren (and traded to do so), there might be some interest.
Pelicans' fans probably think the Pistons would have to add something on top of that deal, while Pistons fans will think the same about New Orleans, but this is probably about as close to a fair one-to-one trade as the Pistons are going to find this late in the offseason.
But even if Detroit and New Orleans could work out the fine print, it creates a whole new batch of problems for the Pistons.
The Pistons would have to make other trades
A sign-and-trade of Duren is trickier than people might think, especially this late in the offseason when most teams have their cap numbers and rosters in place.
This is especially true because not all of Duren’s new salary would be counted in the trade, which makes it more difficult to swing a deal without adding other players.
Even if the Pistons could figure out the financial side, they would be left with just Paul Reed and Tolu Smith at center, and there is no way to look at that change and not say it’s a huge downgrade for Detroit from a position that was a strength last season.
Trading for TMIII would require additional moves, and it’s going to be hard enough to do any trades in late September.
In other words, it’s not impossible, but also not likely that the Pistons will land TMIII, and trading Duren in general is not going to be easy.
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