The Detroit Pistons entered the offseason with deciding Jalen Duren's future as the top bullet point on their to-do list, and we're at the very end of August, and they've yet to check it off. It's been a long, painful process (not that you needed a reminder). The last thing the front office needed was to add more uncertainty to this offseason, which would've happened if they'd traded for Anthony Davis before the February deadline.
Davis became extension-eligible earlier this month, but as Josh Robbins of The Athletic reported, the Wizards are waiting to have potential extension talks with him during the season (subscription required). Anyone can understand why, since he hasn't suited up for Washington yet. And there's, of course, the injury concerns.
It's a good thing that the Pistons didn't step up and trade for Davis, not even after Shams Charania said he "expected" them to be a suitor (lol). They don't have to deal with something in the four-year, $275 million range AD's camp will push for, and then, if Detroit didn't offer it, deal with him requesting a trade.
Something along those lines is what ESPN predicted would happen this season in Washington, as he received the most points (10) in a poll about who the next player will be to request a trade.
Anthony Davis is a flight risk
Tim MacMahon of ESPN wrote that if the Wizards don't want to give Davis the kind of contract that he's seeking, there wouldn't be an incentive for him to stay with a non-contender.
If Washington isn't willing to pay Davis what he wants, why would he be satisfied to stick around and attempt to help the Wizards snap a six-year playoff drought?
The Pistons, at least, could offer AD the chance to go after another championship, but they shouldn't have been willing to give him the payday he wants. Again, they have enough to worry about with Duren, who entered the offseason hoping for a max-level contract ($287 million over five years), but that won't happen.
You could make a better case for why Detroit should pay Duren the max over Davis, even though the latter is a proven star and one of the league's best two-way players when healthy. Those last two words matter, which is why, if AD requests a trade, or the Wizards decide to move on, the Pistons shouldn't join the mix.
Detroit was right not to let the temptation of trading for a star override what it had built, and that's still the case this offseason. Right now, they need to get on the same page with Duren and do what it takes to repair that relationship before training camp starts. And down the road, if the right star trade presents itself, go for it.
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