Jan 21, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) reacts to a play against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Jan 21, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) reacts to a play against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Jalen Duren is somehow still the biggest unresolved case of the offseason, even after averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds, making his first All-Star team and landing on the All-NBA Third Team at only 22 years old.
The problem isn’t whether Detroit wants him, it’s how much. The Pistons reportedly offered Duren a deal in the five-year, $190.0 million range and he turned it down, with his camp still looking for more than $200.0 million and seriously considering the $9.6 million qualifying offer instead.
That stalemate is what makes this massive three-team mock trade involving the Clippers and Hornets interesting. It’s only a trade idea, not something reported as being discussed, but it gives Duren the huge contract he wants while Detroit gets another All-Star scorer instead of simply raising its offer again.
Mock Trade
Los Angeles Clippers Receive: Jalen Duren
Detroit Pistons Receive: Brandon Ingram, Moussa Diabate, 2027 first-round pick (swap, second-best of Clippers/Raptors/Pistons/Thunder)
Charlotte Hornets Receive: Duncan Robinson, 2028 first-round pick (via Pistons), 2032 second-round pick (via Clippers), 2033 second-round pick (via Clippers)
For the Clippers, the main outgoing salary is Brandon Ingram at exactly $40.0 million this season, and the proposed Duren contract would average $42.0 million annually. Ingram also has a $41.9 million player option for 2027-28, so Los Angeles would basically turn one expensive short-term contract into a much longer commitment to a player seven years younger.
Detroit would move Duren plus Duncan Robinson’s $15.9 million salary, while bringing back Ingram at $40.0 million and Diabate at $2.46 million. Robinson is also owed $15.1 million next season, so his inclusion gives Detroit another financial reason to consider the framework beyond simply deciding what to do with Duren.
Charlotte has the simplest financial role, sending out Diabate’s $2.46 million expiring deal and taking Robinson’s $15.9 million salary, while receiving a first-round pick and two seconds for absorbing the extra money.
Is Jalen Duren Worth $40.0 Million Per Year?
For me, no, at least not yet, and the contracts signed by the rest of his 2023 draft class only make his asking price harder to understand.
Keyonte George just got five years and $157.5 million after averaging 23.6 points and 6.1 assists during his breakout season. Ausar Thompson, Duren’s own teammate, signed for five years and $155.0 million after making the All-Defensive First Team and finishing third in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Amen Thompson, who already has legitimate two-way star upside, got five years and $208.0 million.
Now Duren is reportedly rejecting around $38.0 million per season, considerably more than George or Ausar, and only $18.0 million below Amen’s total guarantee. I understand trying to maximize your first major contract, but I don’t think the basketball argument is strong enough yet to say Detroit should simply push past $200.0 million.
Duren’s regular season was excellent. He averaged 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists while shooting 65.0% from the field in 70 games, and at 22 years old, that is serious production. My problem is where that production comes from: Duren is an elite rim runner, offensive rebounder, and finisher, but most of his offense still needs somebody else to create something first.
Cade draws two defenders, Duren rolls. A guard beats the first defender, Duren gets the dump-off. Somebody misses, Duren cleans it up. All of that is valuable, but he isn’t making his own shots from 18 feet, stretching the floor, or consistently generating something when the first action gets stopped.
Then the playoffs basically showed the downside of that profile, as Duren dropped to only 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds across 14 playoff games. By the end of Detroit’s run, he was even losing minutes to Paul Reed. That’s a huge problem when you’re asking for $40.0 million-plus every year. Teams had time to pack the paint, take away the easy rolls and make Duren do more by himself, and there wasn’t really another offensive layer waiting there.
He’s 22, so obviously he can improve, but Detroit shouldn’t have to pay today for every bit of development that might happen tomorrow.
Why The Pistons Do It
Trading Duren after a 60-win season would sound insane without the contract context, but if he really isn’t accepting five years and $190.0 million, Detroit has to at least think about what the alternatives look like.
Ingram gives the Pistons something Duren simply can’t right now: another guy who can create his own offense next to Cunningham. Ingram averaged 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists last season while shooting 47.7% from the field and 38.2% from three, and he made his second All-Star team.
That becomes especially important in the playoffs. Cunningham can run almost everything during the regular season, but once teams start trapping him and forcing the ball elsewhere, Detroit still needs somebody who can attack a switch, make a pull-up, run a secondary pick-and-roll, or simply get a shot late in the clock.
Diabate then gives Detroit a much cheaper center option. He averaged 7.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists while shooting 63.1% from the field last season, and although he’s obviously nowhere near Duren offensively, he can rebound, run the floor, and handle regular rotation minutes for only $2.46 million.
Detroit also gets the 2027 pick swap and moves Robinson’s contract, which has another $15.1 million sitting there for 2027-28. I still think keeping Duren around $190.0 million is the better outcome, but once he starts demanding $210.0 million territory, Ingram, Diabate, and more draft assets becomes a much more reasonable conversation.
Why The Clippers Might Need Duren
This is the team where I can actually understand the overpay. The Clippers’ future changed completely after the NBA’s investigation into the Kawhi Leonard situation. The league fined the franchise $30.0 million and stripped away five consecutive first-round picks from 2029 through 2033, while Steve Ballmer received a one-year suspension.
That’s brutal for any team trying to rebuild a young core, and Los Angeles did recover some capital by finally completing the Kawhi trade with Toronto, receiving Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks, a first-round pick swap, and two second-round picks, but losing five of your own firsts still makes acquiring young proven talent way more important.
And also, let’s look at their center depth: Brook Lopez is 38 years old, Isaiah Jackson is useful but isn’t a long-term franchise center, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser is still coming back from the Lisfranc injury in his right foot that required surgery and ended his rookie season early.
He started showing something before getting hurt, averaging 8.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks in just 18 minutes across his final five games, but that injury makes Duren much more attractive all of a sudden.
He’s 22, already All-NBA, and would be a long-term piece next to Darius Garland and Keaton Wagler. Garland specifically could make Duren’s life extremely easy in pick-and-roll, because he can draw the center away from the rim and consistently hit Duren on rolls and lobs.
Would I personally give him $42.0 million per year? Probably not, but the Clippers don’t have the normal rebuilding tools anymore. When five future first-round picks have disappeared, sometimes the only way to get a young star-level player is to overpay the one who becomes available.
The Hornets Get A Nice Return
Charlotte is probably the team that has to think the least about this. Diabate is a great fit, especially when he was next to LaMelo Ball last season, but he’s also on an expiring $2.46 million contract, and the Hornets already have more frontcourt depth after adding Naz Reid.
Getting Duncan Robinson back gives them another high-level shooter to put around Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, and Reid, and while taking on his $15.9 million salary isn’t nothing, Charlotte would be getting paid very well for doing it.
Charlotte would essentially turn an expiring backup center into Robinson plus three future draft assets, including a first-round pick, without giving up anybody central to what they’re building.
For me, the Hornets take that deal pretty quickly, the Clippers are the team crazy enough to pay Duren what he wants, and Detroit is the one that has the hardest decision.
I still wouldn’t move Duren if he comes back toward that $190.0 million number, but if he’s truly holding out for more than $200.0 million after what happened in the playoffs, I don’t think the Pistons should bid against themselves forever.