Best and worst-case scenario for every Pistons player

Malik Beasley 

Best-case scenario: Beasley’s shooting meshes with Cade Cunningham right away and Beasley feasts from 3-point range. His shot is the key to unlocking the second-unit offense and by the trade deadline, half the contenders in the league are offering up picks for him in a trade. But he’s playing well, so the Pistons keep him, make the play-in and sign him to a team-friendly long-term extension after the season. 

Worst-case scenario: Beasley doesn’t shoot well or doesn’t play much. The Pistons can’t even flip him for a second-round pick at the deadline. 

Jalen Duren 

Best-case scenario: Duren comes out focused on defense and makes his entire season about that end. He blocks over a shot per game, gets better at positioning and moving his feet in space and looks like an anchor on defense. He leads the league in dunks, taking advantage of the space created by all of the new shooters and the Pistons gleefully give him an extension at the end of the season. 

Worst-case scenario: Duren doesn’t make any meaningful progress on defense and looks more and more like a lesser Andre Drummond. He puts up big counting stats on offense and racks up boards (I think that’s a given) but still fails to block a shot per game and has to be pulled at the ends of games for defensive purposes. The Pistons give him a big extension based on hope and he never gets any better on defense.