The Detroit Pistons went for it. Once they ruled Cade Cunningham out for the season in November because of a shin injury, they sunk to the very bottom. They went all out for Victor Wembanyama. He was the franchise centerpiece they needed. They got the fifth pick instead. Oof.

The Pistons missed out on Victor Wembanyama, but Ausar Thompson is not a bad consolation prize. He will be a part of a very exciting backcourt in himself, Cade Cunningham, and Jaden Ivey. But Detroit's frontcourt is a bit more messy. There was a logjam for minutes at the center position between Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart, and Marvin Bagley III that only got heightened after their acquisition of James Wiseman at the trade deadline. Bagley III has played most of his time at the power forward position because of his defensive deficiencies but playing him next to another center only cramps Detroit's spacing. What is the plan here?

That is the biggest concern for the Pistons' roster as things stand. How should they go about addressing this position?

Jalen Duren clears

One way to start addressing that issue is to play Jalen Duren more. It's hard to imagine Duren being only 19-years old despite being a mountain of a man already but that's the case. He's also a great lob threat who plays hard on both ends and goes after it on the glass. Last season, he was the second-youngest player in NBA history to drop 30+ points and 15+ rebounds in a game. The youngest was LeBron James.

That was without some of the handle and shooting/touch Duren displayed in Summer League.

Jalen Duren already looked the part defensively too protecting the rim. But he also showed he can switch onto guards and clamp them up on the perimeter as well as stifling them at the rim.

The Pistons had a better defense when Duren was on the floor versus when he was off it during the regular season, per NBA.com. The overall defensive rating wasn't super impressive, but making a positive impact defensively is hard. It takes time for guys to learn the intricacies of being a rim protector. Duren already showed signs of that. He should only improve in year two.

Room for one more?

Jalen Duren is the Pistons' best center. He should start and is good enough to handle a bigger workload. And he reportedly will this season.

But he also can't be the Pistons' only center. They do have quality options to play behind Duren, and first in line should be Isaiah Stewart. Stewart inked a four-year, $64 million extension this summer. That seems like a lot, but Stewart can toggle between both frontcourt positions. After playing 100% and 98% of his minutes at center his first two seasons, he played 55% of his minutes there last season.

It's admirable he's stretching himself to become more of a shooter; he bumped his three-point attempts up 4.1 attempts per game and shot 32.7% from deep. It's weird, but it can work!

Stewart is also pretty darn good at defending on the perimeter too.

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Reed Sheppard, Zaccharie Risacher and Rob Dillingham wearing Pistons jerseys

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Mikal Bridges in a Pistons jersey with Cade Cunningham

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Tobias Harris between the Pistons and 76ers logos

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Having a seven-footer that can toggle between both frontcourt spots is very valuable. The issue though is Isaiah Stewart probably won't start at the four either. Bojan Bogdanovic has that spot on lock at the moment and likely will this season after signing a two-year, $39 million extension a year ago that kicks in this season, per Adrian Wojnarowski.

However, the second and final year of that deal is partially guaranteed. If Detroit is looking like a lottery team yet again this season, they could look to dish Bogdanovic to a contender and settle their big man rotation by starting Stewart next to Jalen Duren and playing Stewart at center when Duren exits. That still leaves Bagley III and Wiseman to fight for a backup frontcourt spot but that's a bit easier quandary to deal with.

Moving forward

The biggest concern for the Pistons' roster right now is that their frontcourt is jammed with players that need to play. Bojan Bogdanovic, Jalen Duren, and Isaiah Stewart all are starter-caliber players. They can't all start though. Marvin Bagley and James Wiseman are bigs that can feast against second units. Isaiah Livers hasn't even been mentioned and he has a better case for minutes over Bagley and Wiseman as a 3-and-D four who can switch across multiple positions.

There's a logjam for frontcourt minutes here. How do they balance this all out? Do they balance it properly? That's a concern and question worth monitoring as the Pistons head into the 2023-24 season.