Jalen Duren has been able to push Detroit in a way Walker Kessler never would have gotten away with in Utah, but the Pistons have drawn a hard line all summer and don’t appear interested in budging now.
That contrast came into focus with Marc Stein of The Stein Line reporting on Sunday that Kessler’s camp successfully leaned on the Jazz by making it clear he would take his qualifying offer if he stayed in Utah, then head to restricted free agency next summer. Stein wrote that “There is no denying that the s-t-e-e-p trade price that the Lakers were willing to pay to trade for Kessler influenced Utah more than anything, but league sources say that Kessler's camp successfully convinced Jazz officials that he was absolutely determined to go the qualifying offer route this summer had he stayed in Utah and then proceed to restricted free agency next summer.”
Duren tried to explore his options at the start of free agency after Detroit didn’t meet his asking price, meeting with other teams early on. But the Pistons made their position plain: they would not entertain sign-and-trade talks, and they would match any offer sheet another team put in front of him.
That stance never really changed. Even with the deadline looming for Duren to decide on his $9.6 million qualifying offer, Detroit never gave the impression it was ready to play the same game Utah did with Kessler. If Duren’s camp tried to apply pressure, it doesn’t look like it moved the Pistons.
At media day on Monday, Trajan Langdon made it clear Duren will stay with the team, at least through the 2026-27 season. That essentially shuts the door on any late sign-and-trade chatter from the Kings, Hawks, Bucks, and Wizards, all of whom have shown interest.
Detroit’s willingness to hold firm comes even though the center is much closer to taking the qualifying offer than the Pistons wanted. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported last week that Detroit raised its offer from $190 million over five years to $200 million, but that still wasn’t enough to get a deal done.
And that leaves the Pistons in a stubborn spot. It’s hard to imagine Duren walking away from $200 million to play a season for less than $10 million, only to chase a four-year, $189 million max deal next summer as an unrestricted free agent - a contract that may not even be there when he gets to that point.
What’s been obvious since the start of the offseason is still obvious now: Duren was unhappy with Detroit’s negotiations, and three months later, that hasn’t changed. The Pistons, though, have not moved off their belief that he belongs in their long-term core, whether he wants to be there or not.
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