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The Detroit Pistons entered the offseason appearing to need a secondary scorer and 3-point shooting as they looked to build on a 60-win 2025-26 season.
As far as that to-do list, which includes negotiating with restricted free agent Jalen Duren, there seems to be work still to do.
CBS Sports this week handed out offseason grades for all of the Eastern Conference teams, giving the Pistons a C for the moves they've made. That work has included adding sharpshooter Isaiah Joe, presumed starting forward John Collins, and veterans Gary Harris (Michigan State) and Taurean Prince. The Pistons also selected guard Ebuka Okorie and center Ugonna Onyenso in the NBA Draft.
The Pistons let veteran forward Tobias Harris walk in free agency, and traded away center Isaiah Stewart and reserve guards Caris LeVert (Michigan) and Marcus Sasser in separate deals.
"The name of the game for the Pistons this summer was adding offense," Sam Quinn, an NBA reporter for CBS Sports, writes. "The results have been mixed. Isaiah Joe's shooting and value contract won't hurt, but he overlaps with Duncan Robinson and doesn't really address their bigger need for more shot-creation. John Collins probably makes slightly less sense as the starting power forward than Tobias Harris did, given that he functions more like a big than a forward offensively, but he unlocks some interesting lineup possibilities as a small-ball center next to Ausar Thompson that Harris could not.
"They gave up some depth in Isaiah Stewart and Caris LeVert, but they did so from areas in which they had depth to spare," Quinn continued. "They just couldn't convert their financial flexibility into the secondary creator they badly need. They'll have to try to do so during the season, but with all of their picks at their disposal, that's achievable. ..."
Obviously, the offseason isn't over yet, and Duren's situation likely remains top of mind for the Pistons. Duren, 22 and a restricted free agent, and the Pistons remain entangled in contract negotiations following the big man's All-NBA fourth season in which he averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds during the regular season, but struggled in the playoffs, where the Pistons were bounced in the second round as the conference's top seed.
"The Pistons deserve credit for using the leverage restricted free agency grants them to actually negotiate with him," Quinn writes. "The end result here is probably a more favorable contract than Duren is hoping for, but this will likely take weeks or months to play out fully."
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Pistons' 'mixed' offseason graded by CBS Sports
