The long-running Jalen Duren standoff in Detroit finally reached a finish line. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Thursday that the 22-year-old center has agreed to a five-year, $200 million contract with the Pistons, a fully guaranteed deal that keeps him in Detroit through 2030.
Charania said Duren accepted the Pistons’ standing proposal just before the 11:59 pm ET deadline on a one-year, $9.6 million qualifying offer. He also reported that Detroit had put the $200 million guarantee on the table two weeks earlier, after presenting offers that ranged from $170 million to $190 million over the summer.
According to Charania, “There were fractures built within the player-team relationship during the business of restricted free agency that impact the start of the Pistons season. The 22-year-old skipped media day and the start of training camp mulling over the QO and hoping for a potential sign and trade, but the Pistons stood firm awaiting a decision and the sides lock in long term on a massive deal.”
The negotiations had dragged on for months and turned increasingly tense. Duren, who helped Detroit reach the first seed last season, put up 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 65.0% from the field.
He wanted a contract that matched his belief that he belongs among the game’s top franchise players, but the Pistons never moved to the five-year max worth $287 million that he was seeking. Things got even stickier when Detroit signed Ausar Thompson to a $155 million deal.
By the end, Duren had grown frustrated enough that he was viewed as a candidate to take the qualifying offer and leave for the Kings next summer, where reports said a full max deal could be waiting. Instead, he chose to stay with the team that drafted him in 2022.
For Detroit, the deal closes a messy chapter and removes a major cloud from the start of the season. With Duren back in place, the Pistons can keep building around Cade Cunningham, and J.B. Bickerstaff had said all along that Duren would return.
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