Lost in the reaction to Monty Williams proclaiming on training camp’s second day that Marvin Bagley III and James Wiseman were likely competing for the backup center spot was the logical conclusion that Jalen Duren was already in Sharpie as the starter.
Even if Duren was widely assumed to hold the pole position to win the job as camp opened, it still registered as a surprise that Williams all but declared the competition over before it really began when the two other competitors were each a second overall pick in drafts two years apart.
But Williams, of course, was basing his decision on far more than the first few training camp practices.
“There’s a combination of things,” that went into the call, Williams said. “The skill set. The fit with certain guys on the floor that could be in the starting lineup. Conversations with everybody here and, in particular, Troy. And then you just look at the numbers, the production.”
Troy would be Troy Weaver, Pistons general manager, the guy who engineered a three-team trade that landed the 2022 draft’s 13th pick acquired with Duren expressly in mind and who remarked at the conclusion of his rookie season, “That’s one guy I won’t ever put a ceiling on.”
Duren spent his rookie season as the NBA’s youngest player and starts year two as a 19-year-old. The Pistons wanted to keep Duren’s to-do list abbreviated last season, all the while proclaiming that there was much more to see at some point in the future.
It might not yet be time for the full buffet, but Duren is going to get to sample a few more items this season. Williams mused on media day about Duren seeing time at power forward should the Pistons want to play big and make room for Bagley or Wiseman.
Duren is A-OK with whatever Williams dials up for him, content to do the dirty work but eager to expand his horizons if called to do so.
“Whatever they need me to be, I’ll be,” Duren said. “I feel I can affect the game in many different ways. I play to win. Monty wants me anywhere, that’s where I’m going to be.”
That’s a response that reflects the maturity and uncommon perspective Duren possesses – never mind for a teenager, for players of any age. The validation of the estimation of Duren from across the NBA – not just the talent, but the makeup – came when he was the youngest player invited to USA Basketball’s camp over the summer in preparation for the World Cup. Duren and Cade Cunningham were part of the Select Team that gave the World Cup team all it could handle in scrimmages.
“It was a huge honor to wear ‘USA’ on your chest,” Duren said. “I try not to get too high or too low. I’ve got a lot of confidence in my game. For them to see that and show I’m growing as a player was huge for me.”
More than the notoriety that comes with selection, it was an experience that Williams sees as a boost to Duren’s development.
“I think the USA thing gave him some confidence about himself, but I think it also allowed for him to realize what other people think of him. Sometimes that can take you to another level in your game. You start to believe, like, ‘I belong here.’ You start to look at the guys in the gym. You’re like, ‘OK, I’m coming’ ” – and here Williams points in one direction to indicate an established star, then in another direction to indicate another and repeating, “ ‘I’m coming.’ As a competitor, you get in that environment, you’re like, ‘OK, why not me?’ And I think it allows for guys to work harder and get more motivated. It can only help you get better.”
As Duren’s rookie season wound down, then-Pistons coach Dwane Casey encouraged him to focus on conditioning to be able to fully exploit his superior athleticism to beat his rivals up and down the floor. Over the summer, Duren asked Cunningham what he wanted to see from him and was told the same thing – run the floor consistently hard. So Duren made that an off-season priority.
“He’s heard it from a number of people,” Williams said. “He knows to be the kind of player he wants to be, you’ve got to be in unreal condition. You can’t be thinking about your legs. You’ve got to be so well-conditioned that all you’re worried about is the basketball. I think that’s where he’s headed. He’s put the time in this summer. The weight room. Typically, he’s the last guy off the floor. And I think he’s trying to not just show everybody but get himself in great condition so he can reach his potential.”
Part of that will include beginning to spread his wings. Duren has talked about the comfort he feels as a passer and the joy he derives from setting up teammates. Those teammates get to see more of it in practices. When rookie Marcus Sasser was asked last week if there was anything about his new teammates that surprised him in the first days of camp, he cited Duren and said, “He’s a great passer. He can play the point guard position if he wanted to, I feel like.”
“There’s some things with him that are different than a lot of bigger players,” Williams said. “I don’t want to name names around the league or from the past that he reminds me of because I think he’s his own player, but he has a combination of certain skill sets that a lot of bigs don’t have.
“The feel with the ball, the touch, the passing. His (dribble-handoff) game is pretty advanced for a young player. He knows how to get off the DHO, drop the ball and still screen and that’s something it takes kids a few years to understand how to do that consistently. I’ve heard he was always big, so it befuddles me when you look at him and you see the guard skills. You’re like, ‘Where did he get that?’ He has the ability to get down in a guard-like position when he’s dribbling the ball. We’re going to try some things, give him the ball in the full court and let him go off of rebounds. Tell everybody, get out of there. Because he does have that ability.”
As Duren absorbs the lessons only experience can teach, Williams expects he’ll grow into the player his physical gifts make possible in large measure because his makeup will allow that to come to bear.
“He’s got a strong mind,” Williams said. “He’s got a toughness about him.”
All that and he’s not yet 20. No wonder they have no idea exactly how high his ceiling might reach.