The Los Angeles Lakers have already made an attempt to acquire Jalen Duren from the Detroit Pistons after the Luka Doncic trade. The Pistons reportedly said no. Who says that is the end of the saga, though?
Back in late February, The Athletic's Jovan Buha discussed on his podcast the attempt made by the Lakers to inquire about Duren. There was an unwillingness to move him at the time for the Pistons, and understandably so.
The Pistons center played a strong role in the team's revival in the 2024-25 campaign. Duren averaged 11.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game, while shooting an efficient 69.2 percent from the field.
With the Pistons coming up on a key decision regarding Duren's future with the team, an opportunity for Rob Pelinka and the front office to pounce should exist.
Duren is a seamless fit for the Doncic era
The Lakers are going to need 48 minutes of quality center play next season after their early flameout from the 2025 NBA Playoffs. The hype that surrounded the Mark Williams trade, before it got axed, would be amplified considerably for the likes of Duren.
The athletic center would immediately bring a great pick-and-roll partner to Los Angeles for Doncic. The alley-oop connection from the dunker spot should be something that comes seamlessly to the potential pairing as well.
Defensively, Duren is also coming off his best season as a pro. The previously-mentioned blocks per game were a career high. The rising star also posted his best defensive win shares (3.4), defensive box plus/minus (1.5), and defensive rating per 100 possessions (109).
Duren managed to do all of this in only 26.1 minutes per game. An expanded role could provide him with even more opportunity. The question for the Pistons becomes what to do with regard to Duren's next contract.
On an episode of the Game Theory Podcast, Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon discussed the looming extension for the Pistons big man. Both basketball minds thought the Pistons would be better-suited to move Duren for whatever value they could get from a team like the Lakers and search for cheaper alternatives of a similar skill set.
That would certainly be a situation that could work out in the Lakers' favor. This is obviously the biggest hole that needs filling for Los Angeles. If they can acquire the Pistons big man for a relatively similar price to what they had to offer for Williams, the Lakers can walk away from that negotiation table feeling pretty good about themselves.
One way or another, Pelinka will be forced to patch up the issues down low. This would be a great maneuver to do so.