jalen duren
jalen duren
All summer long, Jalen Duren has felt “disrespected” by the Detroit Pistons. Why? They were offering the restricted free agent only somewhere between $150M and $190M as the talks progressed. Now, Detroit has finally come up to the $200M mark that their All-Star center was demanding. But according to insider Shams Charania, that still might not be enough “respect” for Duren.
.@ShamsCharania on NBA Today this afternoon on where the Pistons and Jalen Duren stand:
“Right now the Pistons and Jalen Duren are at an impasse and it’s highly up in the air and questionable as to whether he will be reporting and showing up for media day in just seven days.” pic.twitter.com/wxGzp5OOi1
— Aaron Johnson (@AJohnsonNBA) September 21, 2026
“Right now the Pistons and Jalen Duren are at an impasse, and it’s highly up in the air and questionable as to whether he will be reporting and showing up for Media Day (at training camp) in just seven days,” said Charania.
After making the All-NBA Third Team this past season, Duren has been eligible to receive a five-year, $287 million contract this summer. He apparently doesn’t feel like the Pistons value him the way he feels they should.
A recent comparable contract that likely has Duren seething is the one that Amen Thompson signed with the Houston Rockets. A five-year, $208 million deal. As Sam Amick notes in The Athletic, “While the 23-year-old Thompson is a pivotal player for the Rockets, he was not selected to either an All-Star or All-NBA team last season. Duren was named to both. These are the kinds of ‘comps’ that are typically used in talks to establish a player’s value.”
Jalen Duren hasn’t accepted Pistons’ $200M offer, considering $9.6M instead
Duren is strongly considering just picking up the $9.6M qualifying offer for this season. That would make him an unrestricted free agent after the year, free to go play anywhere he chooses. We already know that the Sacramento Kings are willing to give Duren the type of max deal he’s looking for.
But now Tim MacMahon has stated on NBA Today that there could be other teams out there offering the max for Duren.
Tim MacMahon on Jalen Duren:
"I'll just say the Kings won't be the only one" 👀 https://t.co/xzwzGiczmo pic.twitter.com/p6M27mUKne
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) September 21, 2026
But aside from the massive risk the 22-year-old would be taking by leaving $190M on the table, he should also be aware of the following. By not taking that $200M offer from Detroit, he could be skewering himself for free agency on the open market.
The Pistons offering Jalen Duren $200 million over five years is an important threshold because, based on current cap projections, the most he could make over the next five years if he takes the qualifying offer and signs with a new team would be just under $199 million.
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) September 21, 2026
Sam Quinn of CBS Sports points out that “based on current cap projections, the most he could make over the next five years if he takes the qualifying offer and signs with a new team would be just under $199 million.”
Don’t know how Duren will survive on that, but he’ll have to find a way.