May 17, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) reacts before game seven of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Little Caesars Arena. | Source: Lastwordonsports.com – Jimmy Vik

Jalen Duren’s $200 million deal closed out a four-month standoff this week, with the extension agreed just hours before the qualifying offer deadline. It locks in one of Detroit’s most important young pieces for the long term. The story underneath it is everything else the Pistons left unresolved while that contract dispute dragged on.

The Holes Detroit Left Open This Offseason

May 17, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0), forward Tobias Harris (12), guard Ausar Thompson (9), guard Cade Cunningham (2) and guard Daniss Jenkins (24) huddle up in the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers during game seven of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Still No Secondary Creator Behind Cade

This is the one that should worry Detroit most. Cade Cunningham carried an enormous offensive load last season with almost no consistent secondary creation next to him. Short of high sixth-man expectations for Isaiah Joe, the Pistons’ 2026-27 lineups don’t appear to change that equation.

A team can survive one star doing everything in the regular season. It gets exposed in a seven-game series when defenses load up on him specifically, which is exactly what happened against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2025-26 postseason.

They Lost Last Season’s Second-Best Offensive Option

Tobias Harris was Detroit’s second-leading scorer in the playoffs and a reliable mid-range creator who could get his own shot when the offense stalled. He’s now an employee of the San Antonio Spurs. The Pistons replaced him with John Collins, who offers a different skill set: better three-point shooting, more athleticism as a lob threat and rim-runner, and stronger finishing above the rim.

What Collins does not provide is the same level of on-ball creation or tough-shot making that Harris delivered in the half-court. Detroit swapped a self-sufficient secondary scorer for a more efficient, spacing-oriented finisher — a change that helps in some areas but still leaves the same shot-creation gap next to Cade.

The Isaiah Stewart Trade Left a Real Gap

Trading Isaiah Stewart to Memphis stings in a different way. Stewart wasn’t just a rebounder; he was Detroit’s enforcer and an important part of its defensive identity off the bench.

Paul Reed steps into that role now, and while he’s a serviceable backup, he isn’t the same level of defender or rebounder Stewart was. A team that built its identity on toughness just traded away the player who embodied it most.

Jalen Duren’s $200 Million Deal Is a Bet

None of this is Duren’s fault, and the extension itself made sense: locking up a 22-year-old All-Star before he reached unrestricted free agency in 2027 was the responsible move. But it’s worth being precise about what the money is actually betting on.

Duren averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds on 65% shooting in the regular season, then saw that fall to 10.2 points and 51.4% shooting in the postseason.

The $200 million doesn’t fix the roster around him. Instead, it’s a bet that last year’s playoff version of Duren was the outlier, not the regular season one.

The Last Word

Add it up, and Detroit enters the season with the same core issue it had in May: no proven second shot-creator next to Cunningham. In fact, now they have less proven scoring around him than before, in a conference that got dramatically tougher with LeBron James and Jaylen Brown both landing on the Philadelphia 76ers, Kawhi Leonard back with the Toronto Raptors, and Giannis Antetokounmpo going to the Miami Heat.

Duren’s contract was the easy decision. The actual roster gaps that cost Detroit its season are still sitting there, unresolved, heading into opening night.

Which of these gaps worries you most for Detroit heading into the season? Drop your take in the comments.

Featured Image: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

More NBA News:

Why Giannis Antetokounmpo’s MVP case Is Stronger Than the Odds Suggest

Who Replaces Kon Knueppel: The Candidates For Charlotte’s Preseason Lineup

Why Moussa Diabate is the Secret to the Hornets’ Offense

Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.