Detroit Pistons were planning to pursue former No. 1 pick until they drafted Jalen Duren
Recent reports have suggested that the Detroit Pistons were in pursuit of former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton in the offseason. The Phoenix Suns starting center garnered attention from several teams, including the Pistons, according to ESPN's Zach Lowe.
In light of the Phoenix Suns initially declining to offer a max extension to Deandre Ayton, the Suns big man garnered a lot of attention from suitors. The Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers stood out.
Unfortunately for Indiana, by virtue of Ayton's status as a restricted free agent, the Suns were able to match the value of Indiana's offer sheet to the big man.
According to Zach Lowe on The Lowe Post, drafting Duren affected Detroit's pursuit of Deandre Ayton.
Lowe said (from 47:57-48:49):
"The Ayton thing, I think they were going to be the Ayton offer sheet team until Jalen Duren fell to them at 13, which I don't think they expected to be in play for them at that level. I mean, I know they didn't. And once that happened, I think they said 'Okay, we're just going to roll with what we got. We're not going to clutter our center rotation."'
He added:
"Absent that, if they don't get Duren, I think they would have been the Ayton offer sheet team. I would have loved that move for them."
Pistons Likely Would Have Pursued Deandre Ayton If Jalen Duren Wasn't Drafted basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/268950…
Acquiring Deandre Ayton would undoubtedly have been a massive boost for the Detroit Pistons. Pairing the likes of Cade Cunningham with Ayton would have presented many opportunities for the team's offense to flourish.
However, Lowe also mentioned that Jalen Duren presents massive upside for the future as well. With the Pistons emerging as an interesting young team to follow, Lowe stated that they could be a fun team to watch.
The Detroit Pistons have a lot of talent at their disposal
Some believe that if things click within the Detroit Pistons' system, the team has a solid chance of being a back-end play-in team. While this may be a bit of an overestimation of their ability, Zach Lowe said it best when he said that they will be a fun team to watch.
The Pistons are a young squad with an immense amount of talent at their disposal. Served by recent draft picks such as Cade Cunningham, who will run the show, the Pistons also saw Saddiq Bey grow significantly last season.
The Pistons also made an interesting addition by trading for Bojan Bogdanovic. Considering that Detroit wasn't a name mentioned in the sweepstakes for Bogie, the organization surprised the league by acquiring the forward from Utah.
To add to this, the team also added explosive combo-guard Jaden Ivey along with a solid rim-running big man in Jalen Duren. With two impressive young players on the roster, Detroit certainly boasts a lot of talent on their roster.
What a play by Jaden Ivey.
Doing it all right now on NBA League Pass. https://t.co/wR3ZEuvgxe
With some interesting pieces in the mix, the Pistons could be an interesting team to follow in the coming years. However, in a deeply stacked Eastern Conference, they may struggle to make it to the play-in tournament this season.