The Detroit Pistons have made it crystal clear that they have no desire to help Jalen Duren land elsewhere in free agency, but it's safe to say that things change quickly across the league.
Detroit would like to retain their All-NBA big man, and has extended an offer that they feel is an aggressive offer, but with Duren still considering his options in restricted free agency, it's safe to say he doesn't agree.
Duren met with both the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers when free agency began, but in the words of ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the NBA today is not the same NBA of yesterday.
The Lakers have made their big move, completing a sign-and-trade for big man Walker Kessler, and the Pistons simply don't seem interested in anything the Kings have to offer.
All that to say, Duren's options are running thin, and while the Pistons certainly would prefer Duren to remain in the Motor City, if things can't be resolved soon, they could reconsider their stance on helping Duren land elsewhere via sign-and-trade.
And after the moves around the league on Wednesday, one team in particular stands out as a potential team to target.
Pistons could target Jazz in sign-and-trade for Duren
As part of the Lakers' big offseason swing to land Walker Kessler, the move now leaves the Jazz with one less big man and a void to fill in the frontcourt.
Utah still has multiple talented pieces in the frontcourt to build around with Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen, and Jusuf Nurkic coming to mind, but prior to Kessler signing in LA, the Jazz sent strong signals that they were hopeful to retain the 7-footer and were willing to match any offer up to $28 million.
Obviously, Kessler's four-year, $130 million deal with the Lakers exceeded the $28 million contract limit ($32 million), but Utah's desire to keep Kessler in the mix speaks volumes to how they envisioned their rotation would look next season.
As part of the sign-and-trade for Kessler, the Jazz landed several assets they could use in another potential deal, including two first-round picks and future first-round pick swaps.
Whether Utah plans to pursue another big man option is still up in the air, but the market is losing key names by the minute, and arguably the top player left on the board entirely is Duren.
The Pistons don't want to lose Duren, but several players on the Jazz could make sense to target in a potential deal, including Markkanen or any of the abundance of young talent on the roster.
A trade between the two teams is unlikely, especially given that Utah didn't want to meet the Lakers' offer of $32 million per year for Kessler, so there's little to no chance they'd be willing to meet Duren's asking price.
However, we don't know exactly how front office executives think, and if they deemed the All-Star Pistons' center as a target, Detroit would have to at least consider what a deal could look like.
Duren wants a massive payday, and he's made it clear that if any team is willing to offer him that, he has no problem leaving the Pistons.
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