The Detroit Pistons are hanging on by a thread in their first round series against the Magic and need Jalen Duren to rediscover his swagger in game six.
Duren's struggles have dominated conversations around the Pistons to an almost ridiculous degree. Yes, he has been disappointing, but one bad series can't undo all of the good Duren did this season, especially when he's just 22 years old and was already a huge part of their success.
But the Pistons also don't have time to let Duren find himself, and the tough decisions will carry over into the offseason regardless of what happens against the Magic.
JB Bickerstaff can't be patient with Jalen Duren in game 6
The tough decisions will start right away if Duren doesn't come out and perform in game six, as the Pistons don't have a tomorrow unless they win and Isaiah Stewart has been better in this series.
The problem with Stewart is that he can't stop fouling, so the Pistons will need Duren one way or another, but If Duren falters early, expect to see a generous helping of Beef Stew.
JB Bickerstaff can't wait to pull Duren if things are going badly, and generally with JD, you know right away whether he is locked in. It's a tough position for coach Bickerstaff, who wants to reward the guys who got him here, but there is no more time to worry about that kind of stuff.
The Pistons need to find a sweet spot in Duren's next contract
There has already been talk about whether the Pistons would trade Duren in the offseason to avoid paying him, and again, I think that is entirely premature. Duren is not a second scoring option and shouldn't be, but he's proven he can be a part of a winning team.
That said, the Pistons absolutely cannnot max out a center who can't shoot and still isn't very good at switching on the perimeter. He may be a max guy someday, but that day is not today.
But there is a huge amount of gray area between the max deal the Pistons can offer and the max any other team can, so Detroit has to find that sweet spot. The Pistons could offer as much as $287 million over five seasons, while everyone else can only offer $185.
The Pistons aren't going to give Duren the max, but their offer has to be good enough not to be insulting to Duren and to scare off the other teams, so it's a tricky balancing act for Detroit, who has to figure out how high they are willing to go for a center with huge potential but obvious flaws.