Could the New Orleans Pelicans swoop in and trade for star Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren?
Successful NBA franchises jump on unexpected opportunities, and a chance could have just presented itself to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Detroit Pistons have disgruntled their star center, Jalen Duren, who now wants a sign-and-trade away from the team, per NBA insider Chris Haynes.
Duren is currently a restricted free agent who is expected to sign a massive deal this offseason. It would take a massive swing from the Pelicans, but it does at least make some sense.
The 22-year-old exploded onto the scene last season with an expanded offensive role that led to him being named to his first All-Star team and the All-NBA third team. He is also a borderline All-Defense type of presence as well. He averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds 65.0% from the field and 74.7% from the charity stripe.
Duren was an elite rebounder (both offensive and defensive), great at drawing fouls, a super-efficient scorer and the Pistons were an overall +7.1 net rating with him on the court last season. Having that much of a positive impact on the No. 1 team in the East is usually pretty indicative of a talented player.
Despite his great season, there are some who are wary of him because of his poor performance in the playoffs. His numbers fell off a cliff to just 10.7 points and 9.2 rebounds a night. That certainly isn't a performance he will be proud of; it's not something that will take him off any team's list. The advantages of going after him are clear.
New Orleans has said that they want their team to be more physical, and bringing in a new center has been on the top of their to-do list. Duren would solidify a future trio of players to build around in Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen.
It sounds too obvious for the Pelicans to pass up, but there is also the issue of what they're going to need to move to be able to afford him and beat out other suitors. He already has reported meetings with the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers.
The best asset that New Orleans has to offer is one that Detroit has wanted for a long time. They will not be able to complete this trade without including Trey Murphy. They have enough filler contracts to match any money they need to, but parting with Murphy is the hard decision.
Their star wing has already been a hot commodity this offseason, but the Pelicans have mostly rebuffed his suitors that they don't want to get worse. Everyone knows that it would take a pick package of at least three firsts to get Murphy. However, they could be willing to part ways for a deal that makes them better next year.
Losing Murphy would hurt hard, he's by far their best shooter and an all-around great talent, but they have a lot of talent on the wing. Their center room is weak literally and figurative. It's a move that New Orleans should at least have conversations about.
