its who the 3 guys are ya silly bugga

all-nba regular season production and a very stiff center market goes a long way i suppose

All star and all nba are doing a lot of the lifting tbh. And it’s hard from a negotiation standpoint to argue those

guys gonna have to learn to throw dimes to himself lol

First option is himself. Second option is to leave.

I feel bad for him man, he led his team to 60 wins and now had to watch all his rivals buff up while y’all were caught up thanks to this

on the bright side, duren at least has a trade market in tanking teams, since there were 5 teams willing to offer him a max

They brought in John Collins!

They gave a 9.⁹⁄₅.⁷⁄₃.1 guy $155 million

His defense better be perennial 1st team defense.

What? Why not?

Cade is on 30%, Ausar is on ~16%. 25% max with 8% bumps this summer is \(255M over 5 years. Duren took \)200M, his average value as a percentage of the cap will be under 23%.

That’s a little under 69% among those 3 guys.

For comparison, Phoenix are paying Booker and Beal 46% of the cap. 68% if you add Jalen Green.

Embiid and Brown will take home 72% of the cap in 28-29. That’s 3 years from now.

~69% among your top three players, who are all young, healthy and on an upward trajectory, is a very good place to be. Doncic, Reaves and Kessler will make ~74% in 28-29. Detroit’s 3 will make less money than Ant, LaMelo and Gobert. Less money than Zubac, Haliburton and Siakam. Less money than Kawhi, Barnes and Quickley.

Detroit are fine. They have space for another max, if they want to. Philly can afford Maxey despite paying Embiid and Brown those 2 huge salaries.

People shouting “Detroit paid Ausar, it leaves no space for Duren!!11!1!” have no idea what they are talking about. Detroit can front-load Duren’s contract, too. Pay him the biggest chunk this season since their roster is already set, and they are \(46M below the luxury tax line. Detroit won't even be a taxpayer this season. They still have room to go just under the 1st or 2nd apron, as most contenders do. There is \)21.3M from the luxury tax line to the 2nd apron this season. That’s like another starter-level contract. Detroit are unlikely to be a taxpayer this season, but I imagine they will become one when Ausar’s extension kicks in next summer. So they have room to add another starter-level salary or move on a big-ish salary on the roster (Collins) and acquire a max player. A 30% max is more difficult, but adding a 25% max player is very realistic.

you laugh but if ever the pelicans get tired of Zion, he’ll probably be swapped with Duren lol

Well now they have contracts to get a 2nd option without having to gut half the roster to make the money work.

We got John Collins, poor man’s MPJ

Time to bring back Killian Hayes

I know Tobias Harris is exactly the second option a contending wants to have. But it blows my mind how apparent it is that Cade needs someone else on offense and they replace Tobias Harris with John Collins, a guy who hasn’t created a shot for himself or others ever in his entire career. I’m sure Collins will benefit from playing with Cade (Collins should be paying Trae for getting him that contract) but it makes their biggest issue even more glaring. That move along with trading Stewart for nothing and this whole Duren fiasco has Detroit in the running for the worst off-season. But hey, you added some shooting with Isaiah Joe, so win?

sounds like we will finally get that Cade Booker pairing… in phoenix when cade asks out in a few years. maybe after the 2028 Olympics

the best thing about this signing has to be all the Pistons’ fans absolutely losing it

Because of this comment, they’re going to become the greatest shooters in NBA history

A center not shooting is fine. Ausar not being able to shoot cripples the team’s spacing. they could actually use a floor spacer center like Naz Reid or Mamu.

Sounds a lot like the Raptors!

doesn’t matter if ausar can’t shoot, dude’s an insane defensive floor raiser, practically guarantees a top 10 defense by himself

duren on the other hand I have no clue what skills he has to be worth 200M

Not a winning combination. Duren can’t shoot can’t block. Committed too much but no better choice i guess.

Problem is Ausar doesn’t even look comfortable at the rim with a layup. Anything other than a slashing drive and dunk doesn’t give me much hope he’ll ever develop from even 10’ out.

Yeah, I think somebody is obviously getting traded eventually.

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nobody’s taking Wemby’s dpoy but I’d also accept a unanimous runner-up upgrade for Ausar as well

I think you can simultaneously believe all 3 contracts are reasonable, and also that that isn’t enough to get over the top.

You either need a super duper star, aka Wemby Shai, or guys who way outperform their contracts, eg Brunson or your 2004 Pistons.

I dont know why people hate so much, Imo you’ll be a top 3 seed the next 5 years and every season is a dice roll. You’re in itm

It’s easier to move Ausar and/or Duren for assets. Langdon can figure things out on how to build the roster around Cade.

They need to do what the Heat have done this offseason after getting Giannis, and surround them with cheap shooting.

Amazing miss on both they’re and were

70% puts them at like 15th highest for top 3 players

²⁄₃ of those players aren’t going to elevate Detroit to championship contention as top 3 options. The Ausar deal was fine, but coupled with Duren their cap sheet is stinky

Why brag about being the 1 seed when they barely escaped the injured Magic in round 1

Good luck with any spacing ever

I think the question mark is more about how good 2 of those 3 players are

That much money going to 2 dudes who shoot as well as Ben Simmons is not ideal. We got Ben for the vet minimum. They’re paying Duren $200 million to be Ben Simmons in the playoffs.

I don’t even think the shooting is the issue. Yes it sucked last year but now we got Collins and Isaiah Joe who supposedly can shoot. We also still have Duncan Robinson and Cades own shooting started to improve late last season so maybe that carries over.

Imo the big issue is that even with Duren we still have an issue at center. He can’t defend very well at all nor has he been a great rebounder when it matters.

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen discourse so consistently down on this team like they’re perennial play-in contenders. they were the 1 seed that didn’t make it to the Finals largely because their second option had a disappointing performance. anywhere in the top 4 of this Eastern Conference is still a good finish and we’ll see how they do in the playoffs with some experience under their belt. it’s like everyone wanted Duren to be a seasoned postseason veteran at 22. he might look like the manliest dude on the court but he’s still young, he needs some time. I like this team and I’m glad their core stayed together and I’m optimistic about them in the upcoming season. just wish people weren’t like “yeah maybe they’ll be ok.” sure they lost Harris but we’ll see how impactful that is

Duren just needs to develop an outside shot. He has good form, his free throw percentage is good, and there are examples of centers in the past that have developed a three ball later in their career.

I don’t trust that Ausar will ever be a good three-point shooter, which is why I think the key is Duren. It would open up so much for that offense If he was a threat out there.

Oh yes a center that lacks effort, can’t shoot or protect the rim would totally be worth 200m dollars if he was on a team with a lot of shooters

Ha

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Hey somehow we don’t have shooters as bad as Ausar and Duren on our team.

Top 2 for sure.

He needs to show up in the playoffs

Getting a ²⁰⁄₁₀ DPOY for 40M would be a steal.

well he did average ²⁰⁄₁₀ last year. will never win dpoy but he will be average/plus defender for sure

Why?

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Please. Barring some serious offensive/shooting improvements from either him or Ausar, I don’t see how they coexist in the playoffs. And i think the majority of Pistons fans would rather stick with Ausar and get a center who can shoot.

Making sure they don’t lose a 22 year old all-nba player for nothing first and foremost. Figure out the rest later.

Dennis Rodman and Ben Wallace never averaged jack on offense but both of them beat the Lakers for a title. Ausar averages more ppg than they ever did

Never trust a player that has a magical break out on a contract year

Wow, what a god awful take. They’ve made leaps every single year. I’m gonna need you to look at Amens production year by year, and then Ausar finished top 3 in DPOY last year

Agree

Yeah and Jalen needs to be one of the first if he punts another playoff series

It’s the lack of shooting and ability to play make that makes it questionable imo. All those other teams have players who can do more with the ball.

Cade Kat would be dope

I know and people are like “yeah I guess they can run it back…” like this core wasn’t just the 1 seed. people talk about the Pistons like they were a playin team lol

It’s going to be a bargain

What? This team is nothing like the 04 Pistons. First of all we have like 4 of our young draft picks that were all top 5 picks. The 04 Pistons were largely put together with trades and free agency of misfit toys. As for playing styles, yes we both had top defenses but in very different ways. The Pistons defense is largely driven by Ausar being a generational wing defender, whereas the 04 team was driven by team defense anchored by Ben Wallace. Also the 04 team actually spaced the floor better, as everyone they played except Center could shoot. Whereas this team has Ausar and Run Holland as perimeter players who can’t shoot, as well as Duren.

The discourse around Duren has gotten pretty ridiculous at this point. Yea he had a horrible playoffs, but when has Gafford ever gotten even close to a ²⁰⁄₁₀ season……

He’s one of the best, if not the best roll man in the league. Or at least he was before he got spacejammed in the playoffs

Please be serious lol

this is silly jalen duren has far more offensive capabilities than daniel gafford

i dont know what to say to this