Pistons' Jalen Duren reflects on departures of Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart

DETROIT — Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart became teammates in the spring of 2022. The Detroit Pistons acquired Duren — a former Memphis prospect — in a trade from the Charlotte Hornets after selecting him with the No. 13 pick. A few months later, Stewart challenged Duren during their first training camp together at the Pistons practice facility and quickly realized the rookie big man shared the same physical mentality and traits as he did.

From there, Duren and Stewart spent the next four seasons developing a relationship and identity that paid homage to the Bad Boys and Goin’ to Work Pistons while measuring up to Detroit basketball’s history.

When Duren arrived at the practice facility to prepare for the 2026-27 season, he noticed that Stewart was no longer there. The Pistons had traded Stewart to the Memphis Grizzlies in June. In fact, Stewart is one of two players Duren will miss this season. This offseason also saw the departure of Tobias Harris, who signed a two-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs.

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“Losing Stew and Tobias, that was tough for me,” Duren said. “Those guys have grown to be brothers to me — those are the type of relationships that will never end. I was sad to see them go.”

Watching Harris and Stewart leave gave Duren a better understanding of the business aspects of basketball. It was another lesson Duren learned during the nearly four-month negotiations with the Pistons, which ended Thursday with the All-NBA big man agreeing to a fully guaranteed five-year, $200 million contract.

Stewart played in 365 games with the Pistons during his six-year tenure, averaging 8.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. After an unceremonious departure from Philadelphia, Harris became a prominent veteran for the Pistons. He appeared in 136 games, averaging 13.5 points on 47.3% shooting, along with 5.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.

Although Duren hated to see Harris and Stewart leave, he is excited to play alongside the new arrivals in John Collins, Isaiah Joe and Taurean Prince. Duren believes each addition will improve Detroit’s floor spacing, which will ultimately benefit both the team and his individual performance this season.

“I am excited — we have some good shooters,” Duren said. “I think we did a great job of adding to the team and being able to expand our potential. I am happy that the team is moving in the right direction.”

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Despite their strong on-court chemistry, their shared mindset brought Duren and Stewart together before they even played a game as teammates four years ago.

Now, Duren finds himself having a similar experience with Collins, Joe, and Prince. They haven’t played together yet, but Duren believes that through conversations and film study, his new teammates will have an impact comparable to the one Harris and Stewart had during their respective tenures in the Motor City.

“We have a close-knit team, and J.B. (Bickerstaff) has created a culture where everyone understands the mission,” Duren said. “With them being gone, we all have to step up in different ways. We have some good guys.”

coty.davis@detroitnews.com

@cotydavis_24

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Pistons’ Jalen Duren reflects on departures of Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart