Jalen Duren’s All-NBA honor should have been a celebration for the Pistons. Instead, it has turned into a contract standoff that has Detroit staring straight at the downside of the NBA’s current rules.
That tension traces back to the 65-game eligibility rule and the way it reshaped All-NBA voting. Draymond Green complained about it when the rule was announced, warning that it could elevate “bums” into All-NBA and create problems when those players became eligible for huge deals. Detroit is now living through that exact headache after Duren became eligible for a supermax contract.
The word “bum” doesn’t fit Duren, but the bigger point is hard to miss: his All-NBA selection depended on other players being unavailable for voting. That distinction matters, because it put him in line for a contract situation that would not have existed otherwise. What should have been a win for a 22-year-old center has instead dragged the Pistons into a long negotiation that has stretched across the offseason.
The modern CBA has only made the problem more severe. It opened the door for players like Duren to reach All-NBA, then tightened the financial screws with first- and second-apron penalties. For a team like Detroit, handing out a massive deal can do more than strain the books - it can make it harder to put Cade Cunningham next to the right costar.
That’s why Draymond’s warning feels so relevant now. The issue isn’t just eligibility.
It’s what happens once that eligibility turns into a supermax conversation. The Pistons should have been celebrating the award.
Instead, they are dealing with the fallout of a system that makes big spending far more dangerous.
Money changes everything, and in Duren’s case it has created real friction with the front office. The standoff has gone on for an entire offseason, which is the last thing Detroit needed while trying to push forward and become a legitimate contender.
There’s also the basketball side of this, and it’s not helping Duren’s case. Even with the official All-NBA nod, he isn’t widely viewed as an All-NBA-level player because so many established stars were missing from the ballot. His playoff run only reinforced that skepticism: he averaged just 10 points per game across 14 total games.
The contract numbers make the gap even clearer. Duren could be eligible for a deal worth as much as $287 million over five years, but the Pistons are reportedly nowhere near that figure. Detroit is believed to be aiming for something well below that, likely under $40 million per season, while Duren wants something much closer to the max.
He already took a major gamble by playing last season without an extension, and that bet paid off in the sense that he improved his standing and boosted his earning power. But his playoff collapse and the limitations of his current game still shape how the Pistons see him. Even with All-NBA recognition, he has not done enough to make a supermax feel automatic.
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Detroit has more immediate business to handle, especially with contract extensions for Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson on the table, but Prince and Harris could become useful chips when the front office starts looking for flexibility. For a team that may need salary-matching help later, those deals give the Pistons another layer of optionality, and the timing of when they can be bundled in a trade will be worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
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That caution looks even more deliberate when measured against the kind of swing-for-the-fences move Detroit passed on with Anthony Davis. Davis is extension-eligible, has not played for the Washington Wizards because of injury concerns, and the Wizards plan to discuss an extension with him during the season, which only adds to the kind of long-term uncertainty Detroit seems intent to avoid right now. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Face A Risky Kyrie Irving Debate That Could Change Everything
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The attraction is obvious for a team looking to accelerate its timeline, especially with another veteran piece in the mix, but the price tag in players and draft capital makes the whole exercise hard to ignore. Even as the idea percolates, the real question for Detroit is not just what it would gain, but how much of its present and future it would be willing to sacrifice to get there. [Read more 🡒]