Latest Jalen Duren sign-and-trade proposals create bigger problems for the Pistons

The longer the Detroit Pistons’ staring contest with Jalen Duren lingers, the more speculation we will see about a possible outcome. 

The most likely one is that Duren signs with the Pistons. At some point, cooler heads will prevail, and he’ll sign a deal, as that is the best outcome for both sides. 

Bleacher Report came up with some alternatives in recent sign-and-trade proposals with the Clippers and Rockets. 

The first landed the Pistons Darius Garland for Duren and the second, center Alperen Sengun, both All-Stars who would represent the minimum return Detroit should seek if they decide to open up to the possibility of a sign and trade. 

To be clear, I don’t think this will happen, but the longer this drags on, it does become a possibility, though both of these trades create new problems for the Pistons. 

Trading for Darius Garland would require another trade 

On paper, a guy like Garland would be perfect for the Pistons, as he satisfies the need for a second scorer and creator around Cade Cunningham. 

He’s shown the ability to thrive next to another guard and would give the Pistons another elite 3-point shooter to go add to the list. 

But the Pistons are already thin at center after trading Isaiah Stewart, with just Paul Reed and Tolu Smith left over if they were to trade Duren. 

The Pistons would need to have a Plan B in place before that could happen, as that would be a devastating loss to their center depth. I love BBall Paul, but he’s a hard sell as a starting center, especially with just unproven Tolu Smith behind him. 

It would require another trade, and that could be difficult to come by this late in the offseason. 

Alperen Sengun changes the Pistons' identity completely 

Sengun is a gifted offensive player, another guy who would help play the role of creator and scorer that the Pistons need. 

But there are some huge problems. 

The first is that he doesn’t change the spacing much, as he likes to operate in the same high-post area as Cunningham. Sengun isn’t a good 3-point shooter, so the spacing would still be an issue with him working at the elbow. 

The second is that Sengun is a terrible defender, far worse than Duren, who actually showed improvement on that end last season. I don’t think the Pistons are interested in completely pivoting from their defensive identity, especially after they already traded Beef Stew. 

If he were still on the roster, this might be a different conversation, but the Pistons can’t give up all of their rim protection in one summer. 

Trading Duren at this point creates a whack-a-mole situation where one problem springs up as soon as you hammer the other one down.  

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