The Detroit Pistons, in the wake of a 60-win regular season and second-round loss to Cleveland in the playoffs, might be the most interesting team in the Association at the moment. As free agency officially begins, they find themselves waiting for clarity from two of their most important players last season: Frontcourt mates Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris.
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Duren, as The Athletic has reported, is a restricted free agent who is taking meetings with the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings Tuesday with the hopes of finding a sign-and-trade pathway out of town. The gap in negotiations between Duren and the Pistons sparked this strategy, but it remains possible the two sides eventually strike a deal — especially considering the signals sent by the Pistons. Detroit does not have interest in the Kings’ scenario, which would send three-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis their way as a replacement for Duren, according to league sources who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe ongoing deliberations.
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The Lakers could either give Duren an offer sheet (that the Pistons could match) or try to compel Detroit to cooperate in a sign-and-trade structure in which the third-team All-NBA center would go into the their salary cap space. But it will be challenging for LA to actually land him given the Pistons’ ability to control the situation, either by matching the offer sheet or refusing to engage on the sign-and-trade.
Which brings us back to Harris.
The 33-year-old unrestricted free agent was the Pistons’ second-most productive player in the playoffs (behind Cade Cunningham), averaging 18.1 points and 7.2 rebounds. Yet Harris will be visiting with five teams at the start of free agency, according to a league source who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe ongoing negotiations. (It’s not clear whether the meetings are virtual, phone or in person, or which teams are in play). At minimum, that means the prospect of Detroit losing Harris is somewhat real.
In turn, the Pistons suddenly find themselves somewhat in danger of taking a step backward this summer.
There is still a long way to go in this offseason, of course, but this is not ideal for a Pistons team that is widely known to be on the lookout for significant upgrades. The focus at the start of free agency, it seems, is on not losing the pivotal players it already had in-house.