Current Pistons comparisons with past players in Detroit

Jalen Duren (Andre Drummond)

I know that this is probably the player comp most likely to make readers scream, but Andre Drummond was a highly regarded big man who entered the league young when the Pistons put an end to his fall in the 2012 draft when they nabbed him with the 9th overall pick.

Ten years later, when Detroit drafted Jalen Duren with the 13th overall pick of the 2022 draft, he too would become the NBA’s youngest player. Each of these two bigs were seen as having tantalizing athleticism which, if it could only be unlocked, would be the key to giving the Pistons an edge in a league that no longer rewarded teams built around dominant centers.

Both of these monsters were rebounding machines yet still weren’t – or in the case of Duren, still hasn’t become – the defensive anchor the Pistons had hoped they’d be. Neither was a shooter, which in Drummond’s case seemed somewhat more forgivable (aside from his unforgivable shooting from the charity stripe). For everything that Duren does well, to be on the basketball court in 2024 and not be able to even chuck the occasional 3-ball toward the basket feels like an indictment and a potential scary harbinger of a repeat of the Drummond-era. To his credit, Duren, in his second season, did knock down 79 percent of his free throws so maybe there is something more that can be harvested from his shot.

Rod Holland (Sean Elliot)

In the immediate aftermath of the 2024 draft, rookie Rod Holland was most often mentioned in the same breath as Ausar Thompson. That is for a number of reasons, but being wings drafted with the 5th overall pick made for obvious comparisons. Holland’s offensive game is a bit more polished than Thompson’s was coming out of the draft, which is why I’m opting for a Sean Elliot comp. Elliot, who came to Detroit in the trade that sent Dennis Rodman to San Antonio, was a bucket in his heyday. He may not have been as explosive as Holland appears to be but he was no slouch, and he was very fluid with the basketball.

There are no perfect comparisons

This has all be one fan’s speculation, and the reader may have to squint at times to see what the writer does, but nevertheless the current batch of Pistons are a talented bunch. If they can elevate their games to resemble those of their forefathers, the team will be in good shape going forward.