The Detroit Pistons have had a relatively brutal summer when you consider how they finished last season. They were the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference but flamed out in the second round after two seven-game series against the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers. Now, they’re dealing with a tough Jalen Duren situation. But even if they do re-sign him eventually, it won’t be enough to save their offseason.
The Duren debacle isn’t the only problem with Detroit’s offseason dealings. Though even if they do bring him back, there will still inevitably be some weird feelings between him and the team. But on top of that, the Pistons didn’t make a huge trade. They didn’t make a big swing. Meanwhile, lots of teams around the league – and the East, in particular – significantly changed their roster or made huge steps forward.
Internal development can help the Pistons. It almost certainly will. But even if and when they do re-sign Duren, it won’t erase the rest of their relatively rough offseason.
Even re-signing Jalen Duren can't save the Pistons' offseason
Duren is an important piece of the puzzle for Detroit. He was an All-Star and All-NBA Third Team guy last season. Unfortunately, things went south for him in the playoffs.
At times, JB Bickerstaff was even forced to roll with Paul Reed instead of Duren. That’s how bad Duren looked during the playoffs. So, his contract negotiations have reflected those struggles.
That said, the Pistons need Duren. But at this point, after what seems to have been a pretty rough back-and-forth between the player and the team, it seems impossible that Duren could just put his past feelings aside completely. There’s going to be some lingering feelings.
And again, on top of that, the Pistons didn’t exactly have a dream summer. They lost some important pieces, and the guys they replaced them with aren’t exactly world-beaters.
Tobias Harris left in free agency, and he was arguably Detroit’s second-best player in the playoffs. In his place? John Collins, who has had a very up-and-down career in terms of overall impact.
Isaiah Joe could be a sneaky good addition, but he’s certainly not proven. At least, not in the role the Pistons could eventually ask him to play.
For a team that was just sitting atop the East, their summer was definitely a bit underwhelming, and not even re-signing Duren would fully change that.
At the end of the day, the Pistons just didn’t do as much as they could have this summer.
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