The Pistons have apparently been staring down a tense Jalen Duren contract stalemate, and the latest reporting suggests Detroit turned away a massive escape hatch along the way.
According to ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel, the Kings put a trade framework on the table that would have sent Domantas Sabonis to Detroit for Duren. The Pistons passed, choosing to keep working toward a long-term deal with the young center instead.
“There was a trade on the table from the Kings for Jalen Duren. They were willing to offer Domontas Sabonis to the Pistons but that’s not what the Pistons want. They want to bring Jalen Duren back and secure him on a long term deal,” Siegel stated.
That decision sits in the middle of an increasingly awkward negotiation. Duren and his camp have reportedly held firm in talks, while Detroit has tried to find common ground with its preferred future frontcourt piece alongside Cade Cunningham.
The issue, as reported, is money. The Pistons’ side initially wanted to stay around $35 million, while Duren’s camp has pushed for something closer to max-player territory and over $40 million per year.
Siegel said the current offer from Detroit is a five-year deal worth $195 million, which would land around $37-$38 million annually. Even with that number on the table, nothing has been accepted.
“The Pistons didn’t want a deal to be over $35 million. That was the initial talk for the Pistons, not Jalen Duren, where they wanted to get him on a contract around $35 million.
Jalen Duren and his camp viewed him as a max-level player, that wasn’t gonna be on the table at all, so they’ve been kind of headstrong on saying that they want over $40 million a year on a new deal. That’s where the discrepancy has lied.
Our good friend over at The Athletic, Sam Amick, says that a five-year $195 million deal is on the table from the Pistons, around $37-$38 million annually. That hasn’t been accepted right now and if you’re Jalen Duren and his camp, I mean, what else do you really want at this point,” ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel said.
The situation has also raised the possibility of Duren taking the qualifying offer, something NBA reporter Chris Haynes said would signal a deeper break.
“If he takes that (qualifying offer)...he really wants out, he is fed up...he doesn't want to be there. Even if that's the case I would say do not do that," NBA reporter Chris Haynes said.
Duren is still viewed as one of the best young centers in the game, and the Pistons clearly want him to be part of the organization’s future. But with the summer moving on and no deal in place, the qualifying offer is starting to loom larger.
If Detroit ends up without a long-term agreement, passing on Sabonis and risking the loss of one of the NBA’s best rebounders could become the kind of decision that hangs around for a long time.
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