James Edwards: I think one of the biggest issues for the Pistons this year was a lack of rim protection. For all of the upside Duren has as a guy who’s already an elite rebounder at 20 years old and has good touch around the rim with some playmaking stuff here and there, he’s really got to improve defensively. I think it goes back to what I said at the top of the podcast where I think the situation Detroit finds itself – and where it’s gotten worse every year of this rebuild – is there’s pressure to be better sooner than later. I don’t think they have the luxury of what most rebuilding teams do, which is to let their guys develop. I think Nicolas Claxton would definitely check a box, which Detroit desperately needs checked, which is interior defense. Isaiah Stewart is a really good defender in space and on the perimeter. He isn’t a bad rim protector either, but they need somebody there next to him or a primary option at center since Isaiah moved to the four spot more. I’m not saying that Duren is gone. I just wonder if they bring him along slowly and bring somebody in who’s a definitively pretty good defender. In Claxton’s case, that phrase would be doing him a disservice. He’d be a lob threat for Cade Cunningham, too. -via HoopsHype / April 22, 2024
