Paul Reed was the third center for the Detroit Pistons last season, so anything he contributed was pretty much gravy on the spud, icing on the cake.
The Pistons didn’t necessarily need Reed right up until they did, and a series of events have unfolded since that could take Reed from gravy to main course in the span of a few months.
Paul Reed keeps getting promoted by default
If the Pistons had to name a starting center right now, it would be Paul Reed, as only he and Tolu Smith have deals for next season.
This ascension started in the playoffs, when Reed was the only Pistons center who bothered to show up.
Reed’s play made Isaiah Stewart expendable in the Pistons’ eyes, so they sent Beef Stew packing and poof, Reed was the primary backup.
It wasn’t just that Reed outplayed Stewart, but that he was available and making a third of the money. Stewart was hurt two years in a row in the playoffs and hasn’t shown he can make it through a whole season. He was also making $15 million to Reed’s $5, so it was an easy decision.
The Jalen Duren standoff has elevated Reed even more, as we are now getting late into the offseason and entering uncharted territory for an All-NBA restricted free agent.
Duren is now threatening through the media to take the qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
I still don’t think that is going to happen, as Duren would be taking a risk that doesn’t have any real benefit for him, but if it does, Reed may end up playing an even larger role next season than the primary backup spot he’s currently slotted into.
If the Pistons trade Duren, Reed may be the starter
I should be clear that I still think the Pistons and Duren will work something out, as he’d have to be extremely bold and sure of himself to turn down generational wealth over a $5 million a year gap.
But the longer this drags on, the more likely the chance the Pistons have to deal Duren before the season, as they don’t want to go into next year with a brooding center hell bent on getting out of town.
If the Pistons were to trade Duren, getting equal value in the form of a center would be almost impossible, so they may have to go another route, promote Reed again and try to find a backup, which would be much easier.
It would be a catastrophic blow to the Pistons’ front court that has already lost depth this summer.
It’s still a long shot, but there is a world in which Paul Reed is the starting center for the Pistons on opening day, so it’s been quite an offseason of promotions for Reed and all he did was put his head down and go to work.
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