In the wake of enduring the harshest punishment in NBA history, the Los Angeles Clippers could be on the move to sign a star big man to help themselves recover from their doomed future.
With Jalen Duren's free agency still unresolved with the Detroit Pistons, Sam Quinn of CBS News believes the Clippers are a team to monitor that could secure the big man.
"The interesting thing about where Jalen Duren now sits is that there’s suddenly a very obvious 2027 free agency fit—the Clippers—that has obvious motivation to overpay if the Pistons can’t find a middle ground with him now," Quinn wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Clippers to sign Jalen Duren?
Jalen Duren and the Detroit Pistons have dragged their restricted free-agency standoff at this point in September, as both sides remain firm in their respective contract demands.
Duren, coming off the best season of his young career while becoming a first-time All-Star and All-NBA member, is seeking to earn the five-year max deal worth $287.1 million he is eligible.
On the other end, the Pistons are seriously prioritizing financial relief and long-term flexibility to build around the big man, Ausar Thompson, and superstar Cade Cunningham.
The Pistons have maintained their hesitancy in entertaining any sign-and-trade deals for Duren, placing the disgruntled center in a risky position in picking up his qualifying offer, which will make him an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
Should Duren opt into his qualifying offer and enter unrestricted free agency in 2027, the Clippers would definitely be worth monitoring that could sign the big man.
As they are set to trade Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors and have no future first-round picks until 2034, the Clippers basically have no choice but to sign marquee talents in any way they can to maintain their relevance.
As Duren and the Pistons are still stuck and far apart in their negotiations, the Clippers might now be keeping an eye on how the situation unfolds before ultimately entering the scene.