The Detroit Pistons knew they needed a big offseason after falling short in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They may have won the most games of any Eastern Conference team this regular season, but, in the end, it wasn't enough. One big thing they needed to do was to find more shooting to surround their star creator, Cade Cunningham, with. Last season, they were 29th in 3-point attempts per game and 28th in 3-point makes per game.
They took steps toward remedying that issue on Friday by trading for Oklahoma City Thunder marksman Isaiah Joe. For two measly second-round picks, the Pistons netted the 10th-best 3-point shooter in terms of percentage last season (42.5%, minimum 200 3-point attempts). Joe managed this astonishing conversion rate while also placing in the 97th percentile in 3-point attempts per 75 possessions (per Dunks & Threes).
Joe will add a level of dynamism to the team that they only really got from Duncan Robinson. Plus, his championship experience will help the Pistons next season when they try to make another run at the title. However, none of this will matter if their center room goes to crap.
The Pistons may have a serious problem at center
One reason why the Pistons had so much success in the regular season is that they had three centers that they could feel comfortable giving minutes to. Last season, Jalen Duren, Paul Reed, and Isaiah Stewart all had Estimated Plus-Minus marks that ranked in the 68th percentile or higher. Duren and Reed placed in the 98th and 96th percentile in EPM, respectively. Detroit created a next man up big man rotation that few other teams had.
One of their greatest strengths may end up becoming their greatest weakness. During the 2026 NBA Draft, the Pistons traded Isaiah Stewart (the longest tenured member of the team) for what ended up being Ebuka Okorie (who was taken with the 17th overall pick).
This was fine, as Stewart was seemingly expendable. That is, until this whole fiasco with Duren came about. Duren wants more money than the Pistons are paying him, and if they don't cough up the dough, he is going to try to force them to sign-and-trade him.
Normally, a team would not hesitate to give an All-NBA player entering their age-23 season whatever money they want. However, Duren is coming off a postseason that exploited some serious weaknesses, the type that may not get better as he matures.
I get wanting to make sure you don't overpay Duren. I for one would not be willing to pay Duren the supermax rookie extension that his All-NBA selection makes him eligible for. But if the Pistons are going to go down this route, they need to make sure that they have another option to fill his place.
Unlike Duren, Reed was tremendous in the postseason. Despite the Pistons falling in the second round, Reed finished eighth in EPM in the playoffs.
With that said, you can't expect to make some serious noise in this league with Reed as your full-time starting center. As much as we all love Bball Paul, he's never started more than 24 games in a season for his career. As a backup, he's one of the best in the business. But when he's your starter, you are probably asking too much.
Whether the Pistons can meet Duren in the middle or they can orchestrate a sign-and-trade that lands them a strong alternative, they need to make sure they have a starting caliber big man before the start of the season.
How will this all go down? I'm not entirely certain. One thing is for sure, though, this is a problem that trading for Joe cannot fix.
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