Tight offseason approach shows the Pistons took the playoffs seriously

The Detroit Pistons have already traded center Isaiah Stewart, and now Jalen Duren may be next, as the All-NBA big man is reportedly unhappy with the offers he’s gotten so far. 

Until I see otherwise, I assume a lot of this Duren to Sacramento talk is just his agent using the media to drive up the price of their client. The Pistons are reportedly not close to the max deal Duren is seeking, so getting other teams involved could potentially get that contract on the table from someone. 

Regardless of how this turns out, the Pistons have made it clear they aren’t going to rubber stamp massive contracts for guys who aren’t proven playoff performers. 

Both Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart were no-shows in the playoffs 

The Pistons clearly took the playoffs seriously, as they’ve already jettisoned Stewart and are now playing hardball with Duren, two guys who were playoff no-shows for the second year in a row. 

Stewart has yet to be fully healthy at the end of a season, so it wasn’t necessarily about performance, but if they can’t count on him in the postseason, he’s making too much to sit the bench. 

He was soundly outplayed by Paul Reed, who is making a third of the money and has stepped up in the playoffs in both years. 

The same could be said of Duren, who wasn’t nearly as effective in the postseason and suddenly looked very easy to defend. He was outplayed by everyone, and it was a big part of why the Pistons didn’t advance. 

Given that he’s only 22, there’s hope that will change over time, but I can also understand why the Pistons aren’t willing to act like he’s a polished superstar just because he made All-NBA in an injury ravaged season. 

When you have a superstar like Cade Cunningham, the bar for any big signing has to be how they perform in the playoffs, so the Pistons will have Duren's recent performance in mind when considering a new contract.

Teams have to be more careful with the second contract 

The second contract is the one that can kill any NBA cap sheet quickly, which we have seen time and time again when teams overpay a young player based on evidence yet unseen. 

The second contract is always a risk unless the player is already a clear star (Cade Cunningham), and with the more punitive tax rules in place, teams have to be tight, even with guys like Duren who have shown a ton of promise. 

These are the types of deals that used to get rubber stamped in an instant, and five years ago, I guarantee Duren would already have his monster deal signed. 

But the Pistons can’t afford to get this wrong, so it’s better to have to shift plans entirely than to go too deep for a guy who still has glaring flaws. 

It’s a tough spot to be in, as I am sure the Pistons would like to have him back, but there is a line they clearly won’t cross to make it happen. 

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