Pistons' relationship with Jalen Duren viewed as unrepairable even after lucrative $200M offer image
The Detroit Pistons are the talk of the NBA as training camp starts to take off following a very impactful free agency and offseason. Now, it is still clear that Detroit and Jalen Duren are trying to come to an agreement on a deal.
It is still unknown when he will report to camp. After all, the Pistons just gave him a huge contract offer.
“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 7 days...over the course of this offseason, his offer from the Pistons has been around the $180 to $190M over 5 years range. And that has also included incentives like weight clauses to my understanding. And that has all played a part in this as well. And over the last several weeks been kind of quiet on this front. The sides have picked up communication. And I am told right now the Pistons offer to Jalen Duren is $200M over 5 years," ESPN’s Shams Charania said.
While that is the type of deal he has wanted, Detroit made the mistake of giving Ausar Thompson an extension first.
“Detroit inking Thompson to a five-year, $155 million deal, which will begin paying him an average annual value of $31 million, added a layer to Duren's contract negotiations," The Athletic's Sam Amick wrote.
The saga in Detroit has continued for months now, and NBA writer Jake Weinbach believes the relationship between the two is unrepairable.
“The relationship between Jalen Duren and the Pistons may not be repairable at this point. Detroit has reportedly raised their offer to a five-year deal in the $200M range, but Duren has clearly felt disrespected by the organization throughout this restricted free agency process,” Weinbach wrote.
It is certainly a situation to monitor because the Pistons won’t allow him to go anywhere else, while Duren wants to go somewhere new. It is a classic stalemate with neither side willing to budge at this point.
Duren is a great young center that another team is going to want; it is just a matter of which side is going to break first. There is a lot of money on the table for the 22-year-old, but the feeling of being disrespected might just outweigh that.
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