Detroit Pistons
Negotiations between the Pistons and star big Jalen Duren have reached a fever pitch ahead of Thursday night’s deadline.
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Duren once appeared poised to potentially land a supermax contract, having captured third-team All-NBA honors after averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in just 28.2 minutes of action during the 2025-26 season.
Those hopes turned to ash after a dour postseason run. Detroit offered the fifth-year big a big-money deal that it feels is reflective of Duren’s gifts. The Memphis product has knocked back every attempt at tying down his future to the side thus far, leading to plenty of drama ahead of Thursday’s deadline for restricted free agents to sign a qualifying offer.
With that, here are all the options for Duren and Detroit with hours left on the clock.
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Every option for Jalen Duren and the Pistons as contract decision deadline looms
There are fewer than 12 hours left before the NBA’s deadline for restricted free agents to sign a qualifying offer slams shut. Duren has precious few options as grains of sand tumble towards the bottom of the hourglass. Here’s a look at what he could attempt to do as he tries to figure out his future.
Sign the extension
This would be the most profitable option for Duren in the short-term. The Pistons lodged a five-year, $200 million fully guaranteed offer to their star big earlier in the offseason. Duren’s representatives rejected the deal, with ESPN reporting that sources close to Duren say the Detroit center feels disrespected by the way the franchise has attempted to court him.
There were rumors that a weight clause was included in some of the organization’s earlier offers. The Athletic’s Hunter Patterson and Sam Amick reported that the clause was removed from the latest contract served up to Duren. In the event that he feels that his needs have been met, Duren could re-sign with Detroit on a deal that would see him earn $40 million per season. He’d take home $34.4 million in 2026-27, the 61st-best mark in the league.
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Sign qualifying offer
Duren clearly has some doubts about agreeing terms to a long-term deal with the Pistons. If he wanted a fail-safe to give himself a chance to test free agency waters, the 22-year-old could agree terms to a one-year, $9.6 million qualifying offer to stay with Detroit for the 2026-27 season.
That deal would come with a few wrinkles. Duren would be granted a full no-trade clause for the season, effectively locking him down to the Motor City for the campaign. He’d also be allowed to test the open market as an unrestricted free agent upon the conclusion of the 2026-27 season.
The qualifying offer option would effectively give Duren a chance to prove his worth to any variety of teams interested in his services. If he agrees to the $9.6 million offer and puts forth All-NBA-like production in the regular season and playoffs, Duren could put himself in position to land a max deal next summer.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes that the difference between the contract Detroit is currently offering Duren (five years, $200 million) and the total value he would command should he sign a qualifying offer, impress and earn a max deal ($198.8 million) isn’t very significant. This option would constitute a risk for Duren — one on in the hand is worth two in the bush, after all.
Extend deadline
If Detroit feels a breakthrough could be on the horizon — but will take longer than the 11:59 p.m. ET deadline to materialize — the front office could opt to extend the deadline beyond Thursday night. On Monday, President of basketball operations Trajan Langdon suggested that the Pistons are planning to focus on Duren’s contract extension up until Thursday night’s deadline, so that could make the deadline extension moot. Nevertheless, it does remain an option, should Detroit seek to use it.
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