The Bulls are the kind of team that can make a risky big-man bet feel very real, and Jalen Duren has suddenly become the name to watch.
According to Sam Amick and Hunter Patterson of The Athletic, there is an unnamed franchise “known to have serious interest” in the Detroit Pistons’ restricted free agent. The piece also says there are “at least two other teams - including the Milwaukee Bucks - that are known to have serious interest in Duren (both now and, potentially, next summer).” One of those clubs is easy to connect to Chicago.
That speculation starts with the fit. Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham likes the SLAP profile in a player, and Duren brings it in full: Size at 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds, Length with a 7'5" wingspan, Athleticism with a 42-inch vertical, and Physicality. He checks every box that makes a frontcourt piece stand out.
It also helps that Chicago still looks like a team searching for a long-term answer in the middle. The Bulls landed Nic Claxton from the Brooklyn Nets this past summer, but he is probably not the final solution up front. If Graham made a run at Duren, the idea would be that Duren is the one who sticks.
The price tag is the catch. Detroit is inching closer to a long-term extension with Duren worth $200 million, a steep number for a center who struggled when the postseason spotlight got brighter last year.
Still, the appeal is obvious. The Bulls have had a major void in the middle since Joakim Noah.
Nikola Vucevic was not the answer. Zach Collins has been a career backup.
Claxton is only 26 and a solid starting five, but not someone you build around once Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis really start rolling.
Duren would change that conversation in a hurry. The former Memphis Tigers star averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds last season and was named Third Team All-NBA. He would give Chicago the kind of rebounding presence it lacks, while Wilson and Buzelis are better suited to playing as big wings.
He would also open up the offense in ways this roster could use. Josh Giddey would have a field day coming off Duren’s concrete-wall screens.
Norman Powell, or whoever eventually owns the two-guard spot long term, could run off pin-downs. Duren is also a huge target on the block and a vacuum on missed shots, which means more possessions for Chicago.
And the age matters. He is only 22 and still has room to grow, even with an All-Star nod and an All-NBA selection already on his résumé.
That is what makes the Bulls feel like a legitimate candidate to be the mystery team in this sweepstakes. The fit is there, the traits are there, and the upside is there. The question is whether Chicago would really take the swing.
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