After a dramatic summer, Jalen Duren and the Detroit Pistons have agreed to stay together, but scars remain and will need to heal.
Just hours before the qualifying offer deadline at 11:59 p.m. ET on October 1, Duren agreed to a five-year, $200 million contract extension to remain in Detroit. reported Shams Charania of ESPN And NBA Insider Chris Haynes. This is the deal the Pistons have reportedly had on the table for about a week that runs for five straight years, with no team or player options, and is fully guaranteed.
This ends a negotiation that league sources say became “noxious” at times, but also ultimately shows the power of teams when it comes to restricted free agency.
Duren is coming off a breakout season in which he averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game and served as the Pistons’ defensive anchor in the paint, and with that, he was both an All-Star and All-NBA player. Because he was part of an All-NBA team, Duren was eligible for a maximum of five years, or $287 million. However, the 22-year-old center cost himself a lot of money when he struggled on both ends of the court during the playoffs: he averaged 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, had a negative plus/minus and late in the series against the Cavaliers was losing minutes to backup center Paul Reed.
Combine that with the Pistons looking at how luxury tax aprons are hitting other top teams, and they wanted to keep Duren well below his max. This led to a long summer of drama as the teams weren’t close and Duren didn’t feel respected. Detroit entered the summer with Duren with an offer in the range of $30 million per year, which was difficult for Detroit to negotiate during a summer where other less proven centers were being paid. Duren’s final leverage was to accept the $9.6 million qualifying offer, and the fact that he dragged that offer out until just hours before the deadline, when that offer was going to disappear, showed how seriously he considered it. Detroit was just as serious about keeping him, fending off calls about possible sign-and-trade offers.
It may have taken most of the summer, but the Pistons finally got a five-year, $200 million offer (and took a ridiculous weight clause off the table). Duren eventually signed the deal.
Duren now reunites with Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson on a Pistons team that won 60 games last season and is looking to take a step forward this season. The Pistons — who also signed Thompson to a five-year, $155 million contract extension this summer — have locked down their core. This core must now prove that it can take the next step.
Gn sports
