3 Pistons Players Who Could See Their Roles Change When Jalen Duren Returns

Jalen Duren is nearing his return to action, but will be re-evaluated first. When he returns though, the team will be forced to adjust again.

Nov 12, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Detroit Pistons forward John Collins (20) shoots the ball as Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr (20) defends in the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jalen Duren is set to be re-evaluated on November 22 after recently resuming basketball activities.

That means Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will have to adjust his lineup again, but he would rather face this issue early in the season than deep into the playoff race.

Bickerstaff has relied on frontcourt versatility and small-ball combinations to keep Detroit among the Eastern Conference’s top teams.

However, with the All-NBA center set to reclaim his starting role, the Pistons will need to reshuffle their rotation across multiple frontcourt positions.

Paul Reed

Perhaps the most obvious choice would be Paul Reed, who would go back to his original role of coming off the bench as Duren’s backup center.

In Duren’s absence, Reed has performed well as Detroit’s defensive anchor, and his scoring has slowly increased with those extra minutes.

This season, Reed is averaging a career-high 11.5 points and 7.7 rebounds in 11 games, with seven of those games coming as a starter.

However, regardless of how many points or rebounds he gets, or how efficient his production is, Reed knows that his starting role is temporary.

John Collins

With Duren sidelined, we have seen the Pistons play with the smaller lineup, which has worked well for them.

John Collins has been a major catalyst in that.

However, when Duren comes back, Collins will revert back exclusively to his natural power forward spot, creating a more traditional, physical frontcourt pairing.

John Collins protecting the rim 🔥 pic.twitter.com/luPYfp2wSZ

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) November 13, 2026

Instead of battling opposing centers in the paint, Collins will spend more time operating along the perimeter. His outside shooting will help space the floor for Duren's lob threats and post touches.

Collins certainly adjusted well, but how will he perform and readjust when Duren returns?

Tolu Smith

Tolu Smith will lose most of the aforementioned three when Duren is cleared to return to the lineup.

Smith stepped into the backup center role behind Reed while the frontcourt was shorthanded.

However, once Duren and Reed resume handling most of the 48 minutes at center, Smith's nightly playing time is expected to decrease entirely.

Rather than securing a consistent role in the NBA rotation, Smith will likely return to emergency third-string duties or spend time developing with the Motor City Cruise.

Smith has been reliable in his minutes but, like Reed, his inclusion in the lineup was only temporary.

Bickerstaff has previously said that the team is taking a cautious approach so Duren can return without setbacks, meaning he may face an initial minutes restriction.

That might allow for Smith to get some minutes, but despite the promise, he will revert to third-string big man once Duren returns.