(Editor’s note: With training camp approaching, Pistons.com continues a series that examines the questions they must confront in their quest to turn the corner on general manager Troy Weaver’s restoration of the franchise to greatness. Today’s question: How big a leap can the Pistons expect from the player who was the youngest in the NBA last season, Jalen Duren?)
If Cade Cunningham hadn’t generated the most buzz to come out of USA Basketball’s team camp in Las Vegas over the summer, Jalen Duren might have.
The two Pistons, central to general manager Troy Weaver’s restoration project, joined forces on the Select Team to battle the United States national team to a draw over consecutive days of scrimmaging. While Cunningham dazzled with his playmaking wizardry, Duren opened eyes for his rare combination of strength and athleticism – especially so because of his youth and upside.
Duren was the NBA’s youngest player last season, turning 19 in late November 2022. There won’t be many younger than him in the league this season, either, and perhaps none who will play anywhere near as prominent a role.
While nothing is set in stone with the rotation, especially with a new coach in Monty Williams, Duren is the favorite to emerge as the starting center coming off a rookie season in which he averaged 9.1 points and 8.9 rebounds while shooting 62 percent. He led all rookies in rebounds, offensive rebounds and dunks.
It was once commonly accepted that the biggest jump an NBA player would take in his career came between his first and second seasons, but that sprung from an era when players would arrive at 22 after four years of college seasoning. Duren, though mature beyond his years both physically and otherwise, might reasonably have several seasons ahead of him before he’s close to a fully formed NBA center. But how much of a jump the Pistons take this season is tied in part to how quickly Duren can bend his learning curve.
To be sure, he’ll start off season two feeling a lot more sure of himself after logging almost 1,700 minutes as a rookie.
“I just feel good. Coming in last year, trying to figure everything out, trying to get to know the new game, the new league, it was a lot,” he said while preparing for Summer League in July. “Now, going through my first off-season, coming back into my second year in the NBA, a lot more confidence, a lot more understanding of how it works.”
Defending pick-and-roll action has become the most vexing challenge for NBA centers. For young centers trying to process plays in real time while sorting out game-plan coverages and being taught tricks of the trade from unfamiliar opponents, it can be overwhelming, causing fatal paralysis of movement and thought.
“It’s definitely a cat-and-mouse game,” Duren said. “Those guards, some of the best guards in the world, there’s really no stopping them. You’ve just got to try to make it as hard as possible and that’s what I try to do as the big.”
Down the road, there is a world of possibilities for the ways Duren can make an imprint. Beyond the boundless athleticism and the imposing size – which stood out even among observers at the USA Basketball team camp – are an intriguing set of skills. It’s not out of reach for Duren to one day serve as a secondary facilitator, such are his passing instincts and vision. For now, if he can establish himself as a consistently present rim protector, pressure defenses as a lob threat and unleash his athleticism in transition both ways, he’ll give the Pistons matchup advantages on a lot of nights.
Running the floor hard and consistently was something Dwane Casey preached to Duren last season. He took it to heart, especially when Cunningham told Duren that’s what the Pistons needed most from him. A Duren in peak condition and disciplined to run hard on every possession is a player who should beat his man up and down the floor pretty much every night.
But because Duren has so many tools in his kit, it also means honing all of them might take a little more time before he’s able to put it all together. He can effect winning before he’s a polished product, of course, and that’s what the Pistons believe can and will happen in year two.
“That’s one guy I won’t ever put a ceiling on,” Weaver said as Duren’s rookie season drew to a close. “You keep watching him, you just see different things. (Casey) and I talked early (before Duren’s rookie season). ‘Troy, this guy won’t be with the (G League Motor City) Cruise. He’ll be with us.’
“He’s a very smart young man. Got tremendous gifts. Maybe surprising to some, but I had him pretty high on my board. He’s got a chance to be a big-time player. Looking forward to his continued growth.”
How much of it comes in the 2023-24 season will be closely tied to how big a jump the Pistons ultimately take.