Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) celebrates in the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
The Peyton Watson saga has finally ended, but there is still no end in sight when it comes to another restricted free agent. Jalen Duren’s future with the Detroit Pistons remains up in the air, and NBA insider Tim MacMahon shared on The Hoop Collective podcast that negotiations have gotten ugly.
“The biggest question I’ve got about the Pistons is like what’s going to be the lingering cloud when this whole Jalen Duren situation gets finalized or at least temporarily settled?” MacMahon said. “Is he going to sign an extension? Well, I don’t know. But this has been a awfully nasty negotiation.
“And so I’ve got real concerns there,” MacMahon continued. “Because I understand they believe Ausar Thompson is their second-best player, but Jalen Duren was an All-NBA player for him last year. He was a massive factor in them winning 60 games. You can certainly criticize the playoff performance, but he was a massive factor in them winning 60 games.”
Duren averaged 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game in 2025-26. The 22-year-old helped the Pistons get the No. 1 seed in the East with a stellar 60-22 record, and made the All-NBA Third Team.
While that is all great, Duren, the No. 13 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, struggled massively in the playoffs. The one-time All-Star put up just 10.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game.
The Pistons faced the Orlando Magic in the first round, and you could argue Wendell Carter Jr. outplayed Duren in that series. The big man’s struggles contributed to the Magic taking a 3-1 lead, but an injury to Franz Wagner then derailed them.
The Pistons would advance in seven games to then take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Duren was up against a strong frontcourt of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley in that matchup, and he shrank. He averaged 9.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as the Pistons lost in seven.
Now, despite these struggles, Duren reportedly seeks a five-year, $287 million max extension from the Pistons. They unsurprisingly aren’t all too keen on agreeing to his demands after what happened in the playoffs.
As MacMahon pointed out, the Pistons also believe Ausar Thompson is their second-best player behind Cade Cunningham, not Duren. They don’t want to make that kind of financial commitment to him.
“I don’t really have a great feel for kind of his temperament or anything like that, but sometimes these negotiations when they’re ugly like this can have consequences,” MacMahon said.
An example of this would be Deandre Ayton and the Phoenix Suns. Negotiations between the two parties hadn’t gone anywhere for a while, and the Suns eventually were forced to match the offer sheet Ayton, a restricted free agent, had gotten from the Indiana Pacers in 2022. That relationship was never the same, though, and he was shipped out of town in 2023.
As for the Pistons potentially letting Duren go this summer, they reportedly do not want to discuss a sign-and-trade. This was how the Watson saga ended, but it’s not how this one will.
If the two sides do not end up agreeing on a long-term deal, Duren might end up taking the one-year, $9.6 million qualifying offer. He’d then become an unrestricted free agent in 2027 and would be free to go wherever he chooses.