As the Pistons try to add more talent in the trade market, they will inevitably get calls back for one of their top two centers in Jalen Duren or Isaiah Stewart. Parting ways with either one would be a tough pill to swallow, but fortunately the Pistons have Paul Reed waiting in the wings to make that loss hurt a bit less.
Reed arguably played the best of the three centers in the playoffs and should give Detroit’s front office confidence in their center rotation for next season regardless of any trade they make. His versatile game will give the Pistons optionality with any lineup and he’s ready to take on a bigger role if Duren or Stewart needs to be moved.
Paul Reed is ready for his breakout
Despite receiving limited minutes in most playoff games, Reed dominated whenever he touched the court. He averaged 0.77 points per minute in the postseason - a mark even higher than Cade Cunningham or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Of course, that mark won’t necessarily carry over if Reed is playing 30 minutes per game but his per-minute production does show that he’s worthy of more playing time.
The Pistons need more shot creation and secondary scoring to support Cade in the playoffs. Although every center on the team played well in the regular season, only Reed was able to score consistently against the Cavaliers’ double bigs in a playoff setting. If the Pistons want to prioritize deep playoff runs over regular season wins going forward, it makes sense to promote Reed and swap out one of Stewart or Duren for a perimeter upgrade.
Every team that made the Conference Finals this year has multiple players capable of attacking the defense to create their own advantages or play off their stars effectively. The Pistons didn’t have enough of these supporting pieces, especially with Duren having a disappointing playoff run. Reed was ironically one of the Pistons’ best scoring options next to Cade despite being a third-stringer.
The time for a bold trade is now
The Pistons front office has been understandably conservative in the last two seasons as they’ve rebuilt the team from 14 wins to 60 wins and a first seed. Now that the team has proved itself as a winner and shown their remaining playoff flaws, they must make moves to address those weaknesses without getting overly attached to the existing pieces.
Cade is obviously the cornerstone of the team, but everything else should be on the table. Having Paul Reed as a deep bench piece is a rare luxury and gives the Pistons freedom to truly explore any possible trades to improve the team.
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