After an offseason full of speculation and controversy, Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren has a message for the rest of the league: he’s back.
In Wednesday night’s road exhibition game, the All-Star big man got to work right away with Detroit’s first bucket against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he kept them coming in quick succession after that. In just 15 minutes of work, Duren posted 24 points (8-for-9 FGs), three rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block in his preseason debut with a performance that should convince the Pistons that they made a sound offseason investment.
Although Duren came in at a hefty five-year, $200 million price tag, the fifth-year big looked like a player worth every bit of that substantial contract against the T-Wolves and did a bit of everything in the Pistons’ 128-106 victory. JD threw a well-placed lob to Ausar Thompson on the fastbreak, worked well with Cade Cunningham in the two-man game and played with a sense of urgency that showed how committed he is to Detroit’s success.
After the double-digit win, Duren mentioned that he was “super eager” to finally make his debut and is primed to continue his momentum.
”I had to take my time to get back right and get in somewhat of game shape, but I was just happy,” Duren said after the game. “Happy to be back playing the game that I love, happy to be back with my teammates that I love, and I’m ready to keep it going.”
Outside of Duren’s dominant performance, the Pistons had four other players break the double-figure mark: Duncan Robinson with 15, Isaiah Joe and Cade Cunningham with 14 points apiece then finally John Collins had an 11-point effort. But now that JD was back in the mix, Detroit looked like a dynamic offensive squad that could conceivably take a step forward in the 2026-27 campaign given their influx of perimeter shooters from the offseason.
In that respect, the Pistons went 11-for-25 from beyond the arc against Minnesota for a 44% mark that was considerably better than their average last season. Robinson in particular was dialed in with a 4-for-5 showing from long-range, and Detroit finally looked like the dangerous offensive squad that was promised after a series of shooting-focused summertime trades.
But from a larger perspective, the Pistons beat the Timberwolves in familiar areas since Duren was back in the lineup. Detroit dominated the glass with a 12-rebound advantage in the win, and the Pistons more than doubled Minnesota’s production in the paint (64 to 30), so the hallmarks of last season’s physically imposing unit still look evident with a new regular season right around the corner.
Next up, the Pistons have a day off before hosting the Toronto Raptors for their preseason finale at Little Caesars Arena on Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 pm.