Entering free agency, there was plenty of buzz surrounding the idea that the Detroit Pistons could be set to lose restricted free agent Jalen Duren.

The gap in contract negotiations sent Duren and his camp into free agency, looking to not only prove Detroit wrong about his market value but find a team that would ink him to the massive payday he’s searching for, even if it meant landing on a rebuilding team like the Sacramento Kings.

Between Sacramento’s interest, the Los Angeles Lakers’ flirting with an all-out pursuit for the 22-year-old star, and Duren’s intrigue with landing on the Boston Celtics, it felt like the Pistons didn’t have the leverage they were hoping for, even with Detroit signaling they’d match any offer sheet.

However, the Lakers have landed Walker Kessler, the Celtics have signed Mitchell Robinson and offloaded Jaylen Brown, and the Kings aren’t even a real consideration without Detroit willing to facilitate a sign-and-trade.

The silence from Duren’s camp over the last couple of days is deafening, and it signals that the leverage is back in the Pistons’ court.

Pistons are Jalen Duren’s best option

Detroit may not have offered Duren the supermax extension he was searching for, but several reports have suggested the Pistons did offer a deal they felt was enough for the former first-round pick to return to the Motor City.

With the Lakers now out of the picture, the Celtics’ future in serious question, and no other team with cap space available to make a run, the Pistons are Duren’s best option to not only get paid but also contend.

Duren has a great relationship with superstar guard Cade Cunningham, and while it’s clear that his priorities were landing a bag this summer, there’s no reason why he can’t get the best of both worlds by receiving a notable raise and returning to the place he’s called home since 2022.

The Pistons lost Tobias Harris in free agency, they moved on from Isaiah Stewart, and the futures of Caris LeVert and Duncan Robinson are still very much in question.

Detroit can’t let another key piece of their top-seeded roster exit this offseason, even if there’s a massive gripe about how Duren played during the playoffs.

Fresh off an All-Star season that landed him an All-NBA nod, the Pistons want to retain him, and with his options disappearing fast, Duren should be more open to a return now.

Detroit’s pro sports teams have some pretty iconic uniforms, from the winged wheel of the Detroit Red Wings, to the old English D of the Detroit Tigers to the Honolulu blue of the Detroit Lions.

But for every classic jersey from a Motown team, there is at least one gathering dust in the back of a closet – and not because it’s a cherished item.

There have been some duds in the Detroit sports uniform rotation, with misguided color schemes, wacky logos, unfortunate throwbacks and sleeves where they are not supposed to be (looking at you, Pistons). If it weren’t for these bad uniforms, we might not be able to cherish the brilliant ones quite as much.

But as painful as it might be to revisit these sartorial tragedies, let’s do it, anyway.

Here are the worst jerseys from every major Detroit men’s pro team (excluding the Red Wings, because we honestly couldn’t find one to call bad).

LOOKIN’ GOOD: The best-ever uniforms from every Detroit pro sports team

Tigers: 2024-present City Connects

Swing and a miss.

The Tigers debuted their highly-anticipated City Connect jerseys in 2024, and they haven’t exactly been a hit. The black-and-blue color scheme doesn’t scream “automotive industry,” even if the carefully hidden VIN number and the less-carefully hidden highway sign on the sleeve are supposed to pay homage to the Motor City.

That’s the best part of the uniform, by the way – “Motor City” across the chest was a slam dunk, even if the quasi Star Trek font is more reminiscent of spaceships than Model Ts. But by far the worst part is the hat. Not even a downtown tourist shop would sell a hat that ridiculous looking.

The Tigers seemed to have rectified the situation by introducing two alternate jerseys this past offseason, both of which score much higher than the City Connect jersey. But for whatever reason, the Tigers still insist on occasionally breaking out these duds. Banish them, we say.

Lions: 2017 Color Rush

The NFL’s color rush uniforms would likely show up on many “worst” lists for various NFL teams, but Detroit’s color rush attempt in 2017 was especially egregious.

Grey may be a color (technically), but it certainly isn’t a Lions color, as demonstrated by the clashing silver helmets the Lions wear with their traditional unis. At least the Lions all-black uniforms from the past two seasons have an accompanying helmet that matches, truly elevating what an alternate jersey can bring to the field.

But even if the color rush uniforms came with a matching grey helmet, they would still look pretty bad. The best thing that can be said about them is that they are bland, and you have virtually zero chance of seeing a fan wearing one of these in or around Ford Field.

Pistons: 2019-20 City Edition

Remember when the NBA tried to get us all to buy sleeved jerseys in the mid 2010s? And how the Pistons wore a sleeved “Motor City” jersey that used the wrong shade of blue, the wrong shade of red and looked like a shirt for rec league?

The red City Edition uniform is somehow way worse than that.

The brightness of Detroit’s red lends itself much better as a secondary color, as it’s way too bright and harsh to be the featured color on a basketball uniform. The double stripe down the middle serves no purpose and looks to be the only idea the designers had for this uniform. And did we mention how red it is?

These uniforms were shelved after one season, and while the Pistons tried a red City Edition uniform again a couple of years later, they haven’t gone back since. A wise decision.

DCFC: 2025 away

In a vacuum, Detroit City’s 2025 away kits aren’t bad. The lines are clean, the crest keeps its gold sheen and teams are allowed to take a break from their standard color combinations every once in a while.

But green just doesn’t feel right for this team. If it were a lighter green to match the Spirit of Detroit, then maybe the connection to the city would have been strong enough to merit a second look. Forest green, however, just feels like too far a diversion from a team that wears red so well.

Disagree with our rankings? Let us know.

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