If not Jalen Duren, then who? It's the one question that those on either side of the Duren debate have struggled to answer. Yes, Duren is coming off of a historically shocking decline from the regular season to the playoffs. And yes, his asking price is rather steep for the Detroit Pistons to meet.
If the Pistons ultimately opt to move on from Duren, however, then they'll need to replace him—and there may not be an ideal candidate to do so at this stage of the offseason.
Replacing Duren doesn't necessarily mean finding another center, as the Pistons could adapt their strategy to a new personnel group. They already have a true star in Cade Cunningham, as well as sharpshooters, defensive specialists, and a quality big in Paul Reed to anchor their efforts.
With a balanced core and a franchise player, the Pistons could conceivably agree to a sign-and-trade that swaps Duren out for a high-level player or even several who ultimately transform the team's identity.
For as nice as that sounds on paper, the question remains: Who? Who exactly are the Pistons looking at as replacement players who can help Cunningham build upon leading Detroit to 60 wins? This is, after all, a team that has increased its win total and gone a round further in the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.
Therein lies the most unfortunate truth of all: If the Pistons part ways with Duren, then they may set the Cunningham era back just as it reached a 60-win level. Who could even justify that risk?
Who is an ideal replacement for Jalen Duren? There may not be one
Detroit isn't an up-and-coming team that's hoping to replace Duren with other building blocks. It's a contender in the present day that has a 25-year-old superstar who has spent the past five seasons fighting tooth and nail to make the Pistons matter again.
Fresh off of leading the team to its first 60-win season in 20 years and its first playoff series win in 18, Cunningham deserves more than a request for another display of patience.
Perhaps he'd agree to it and be the team player many know him to be. If the returning package for Duren fails to provide Cunningham with ideal complementary pieces, however, then Detroit will be right back at square one.
It's the unfortunate truth about the corner that the Pistons have found themselves backed into: Running the risk of continued underperformance, they need their All-NBA center back.
Cunningham is still the only proven shot creator on the roster, as well as the only playmaker who averaged more than 3.9 assists per game last season. For that matter, John Collins at 13.6 points per game would've been third on the Pistons in 2025-26. Duren, meanwhile, averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game at 22 years of age.
It's easy to argue that the Pistons need more than what Duren offered in the playoffs, but they don't seem to have a better option at this stage of the offseason.
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