{"id":649701,"date":"2026-05-18T04:40:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T04:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/649701\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T04:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T04:40:10","slug":"3-biggest-questions-for-the-detroit-pistons-entering-the-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/649701\/","title":{"rendered":"3 biggest questions for the Detroit Pistons entering the offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"

3 biggest questions for the Detroit Pistons entering the offseason<\/a> originally appeared on The Sporting News<\/a>. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The clock has struck midnight.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

What was a fairytale season for the Detroit Pistons<\/a> has come to a close at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a>. After securing the 1-seed and completing a 3-1 comeback to win the first round, Detroit is now faced with some tough decisions entering the offseason.<\/p>\n

Here are the top three priorities for the Pistons entering the 2026 offseason.<\/p>\n

Should Jalen Duren<\/a> be offered a max contract?<\/p>\n

One of the biggest revelations for Detroit this season was the emergence of Jalen Duren. The big man set a career-high 19.5 points per game and added 10.5 rebounds.<\/p>\n

He’s likely to make an All-NBA team which would make him eligible for a five-year, $287 million supermax extension. Until then, he will be a restricted free agent.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Duren was phenomenal in the regular season and one of the biggest reasons Detroit secured the top seed. But his performance in the postseason has caused some questions. In games 3-5 against the Cavaliers he was held under 5 rebounds each contest.<\/p>\n

His body of work is worth a max contract. However, the argument will be made that his postseason performance showed some glaring weaknesses.<\/p>\n

The Pistons can either lose a valuable asset for nothing or potentially overpay to keep their guy in the building.<\/p>\n

Much like Duren, Tobias Harris was a key cog of the supporting cast in Detroit. Cade Cunningham<\/a> is the clear alpha moving forward but you still need the pieces around him to succeed.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Harris averaged 13.3 points per game in the regular season but had some standout showings in the postseason. Most notably, he dropped 30 points in a series-clinching game 7 against the Magic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0Pistons trade rumors involve 2 potential stars to help Cade Cunningham<\/a><\/p>\n

The veteran wing is the most seasoned playoff performer on the team alongside Duncan Robinson<\/a>. Without him, the Pistons will bank on youth and Cunningham to lead the charge.<\/p>\n

The key is what Harris’s market will be. Are there hoards of teams clamoring for an above-average wing on both ends of the floor? Harris isn’t a ceiling raiser but he’s dependable.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

How NBA front offices evaluate him will likely determine if he stays in the Motor City.<\/p>\n

Ausar Thompson was one of the best defenders, not just on the Pistons, but in the entire NBA this season. His length and tenacity make him a fearsome opponent for any team. Yet his offense leaves much to be desired.<\/p>\n

Just like his brother Amen, Ausar has a place in the league going forward. The question is can he develop into a shooter that forces teams to respect him from beyond the arc? It was evident in game 7 that the Cavs were willing to leave Thompson open and live with the results.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The Pistons hope that next year more teams will be wary of Thompson’s offensive prowess.<\/p>\n

Jenkins, on the other hand, was never expected to be this type of contributor. He started out as a two-way player, splitting time in the G-League and NBA. In February the Pistons signed him to a two-year NBA contract.<\/p>\n

Jenkins was an excellent fill-in for Cade Cunningham who missed games due to injury in the regular season. But then in the playoffs Jenkins learned to play alongside his backcourt mate.<\/p>\n

The undrafted ballhandler has now cemented himself as at least a role player, if not a key piece of Detroit’s future. His development is now a primary focus for this team in years to come.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

If Jenkins can raise his ceiling even higher, the Pistons could avenge this year’s playoff woes.<\/p>\n

With a player like Cade Cunningham at the helm, Detroit is set to contend in the east for years to come. The question is will they continue to take the 1 seed or will they battle in the lower tier of the conference?<\/p>\n

These few offseason questions will give fans a better idea of what to expect in 2026-27.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0Pistons vs. Cavs final score, results: Cleveland cruises to Eastern Conference Finals with Game 7 blowout<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"3 biggest questions for the Detroit Pistons entering the offseason originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":649702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[72976,88728,8174,42227,4576,25167,148151,27695,58423,355,99,148694],"class_list":["post-649701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ausar-thompson","tag-cade-cunningham","tag-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-daniss-jenkins","tag-detroit-pistons","tag-duncan-robinson","tag-jalen-duren","tag-javonte-green","tag-kevin-huerter","tag-nba","tag-sports","tag-tobias-harris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=649701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/649702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=649701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=649701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=649701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}