The Pistons’ effort to lock up Jalen Duren has turned into a summer staring contest, but there may finally be a finish line in sight.
Detroit has spent the offseason trying to sort out how to keep its big man in place without overpaying, and the gap between the two sides has been clear for a while. The Pistons put a five-year offer on the table that averaged about $35 million per year, according to ESPN, while Duren’s camp has held firm on a number north of $40 million annually. If the frustration lingers, Duren could also choose the qualifying offer.
That tug-of-war has fueled plenty of outside debate about what Duren is really worth. Tracy McGrady was blunt in his assessment.
“You can't give him the super-max," said McGrady. "I think he needed another year on the level that he was trending before it was considered.
He deserves to be paid. But that super max?
Phenomenal regular season 19 and 10, but the drop-off to 10 and 8 in the playoffs…I get it, the regular season. But our eyes saw that this year in the playoffs.
They see the same thing that we witnessed. And it's tough, man, because it was so bad and it just put him in a bad, bad situation."
Still, the latest update points toward movement. NBA insider Brett Siegel said talks have picked back up between Duren and Detroit, and he believes a deal could come together soon.
“Conversations have since resumed. Him and his management have been talking with the Pistons lately. And it does seem like that within the next 14 to 20 days or so, we're gonna get some contract details here, and I think that they're gonna reach a long-term agreement because there's no sign-and-trade on the table,” Siegel said.
That’s the most encouraging sign yet for a team that has been stuck in limbo with one of its key young players. Duren is coming off the best season of his career, even if the playoffs did not go nearly as well and marked his first postseason run. The Pistons clearly value him, and the feeling around the situation is that he is too important to simply let go.
For now, the sides remain in a stalemate. But with talks resuming and a possible decision window of 14 to 20 days, the expectation is that Detroit and Duren may finally get to the point where the numbers stop circling and a long-term agreement gets done before training camp.
In Other News...
JB Bickerstaff Now Has A Pistons Problem Fans Will Welcome
JB Bickerstaffs first offseason in Detroit brought the kind of roster makeover that usually signals a team trying to solve a very specific problem. After finishing with the leagues second-best defense last season, the Pistons knew the bigger issue was on the other end, where the offense bogged down in the playoffs and left too much pressure on Cade Cunningham to create. The front office answered by adding more shooting and spacing, giving Bickerstaff a more modern-looking group to work with and, at least on paper, a better chance to keep the floor open.
The catch is that every move to help the offense can tug at the defense, and Bickerstaff now has to manage that tradeoff without losing the identity that got Detroit this far. The roster also looks different on the defensive side after the departures of Isaiah Stewart and Tobias Harris, which makes the balancing act even trickier. For a coach who built his reputation on structure and toughness, the challenge is finding the right blend before the season starts to sort out whether this new mix can hold up on both ends. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Duren May Be Weighing A Risky Bet On His Future
The offseason chatter around Jalen Duren has started to feel bigger than a typical extension conversation, especially after Sacramento reportedly explored a sign-and-trade and Detroit showed no interest in dealing him. Duren also recently met with Pistons GM Scott Perry, and the message from that discussion appears to be that the organization still sees a future with him, even if that future may not require a long-term deal right away.
For Duren, the path to true leverage may be the riskier one. Accepting a qualifying offer would put him on track for free agency next summer, a move that could set up a bigger payday if his market develops the way he hopes. But it also leaves him exposed, with the possibility that a team like the Kings could still try to make a run at him while Detroit weighs whether to keep building around a young center whose next decision could shape both his market and the Pistons' frontcourt plans. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Still Have The Same Cade Cunningham Problem Again
The Pistons are heading into the 2026-27 season with a familiar problem hanging over the roster, and it starts with how much of the offense still has to run through Cade Cunningham. Detroit does not have a deep group of self-created shot-makers behind him, which leaves J.B. Bickerstaff trying to balance development, spacing and enough reliable scoring options to keep the half-court offense from stalling out.
One part of the answer could come from the frontcourt, where the team is hoping to keep Jalen Duren in the fold and squeeze more offense from the rest of the big-man rotation. Detroit is also weighing a stronger lean toward three-point shooting and larger roles for players such as Paul Reed and John Collins, but the broader question remains the same: can the Pistons find enough creation around Cunningham, or will the offense once again be forced to improvise as the roster shifts? [Read more 🡒]