The Pistons didn’t flinch with Jalen Duren, and that was the point.
Detroit had the chance to go bigger - much bigger - on a new deal for its All-Star center, with a contract that could have reached as much as $287 million over five years. Instead, the team held firm and landed on a five-year, $200 million agreement.
Duren also had the option to take the $9.6 million qualifying offer, play out the season, and reach unrestricted free agency next summer. In the end, the long, messy restricted free agency ended with both sides meeting in the middle enough to get a deal done.
That decision fits the reality the Pistons are operating in now. Cade Cunningham already has a max extension.
Ausar Thompson just signed his rookie extension. Detroit couldn’t just hand Duren the moon and worry about the rest later, especially after a disappointing postseason and in a league shaped by salary cap aprons and the limits that come with them.
“I think Duren played his butt off [last season], but I mean, to me, he's like Domantas Sabonis,” an anonymous NBA scout told Sports Illustrated. “He's going to get overpaid, and he's a role player.
He's not as talented. He's not a max player.
He's a role player. And if you're going to pay him that, are you ever really going to go get somebody else to be the team you want to be?”
The contract still lands Duren among the league’s highest-paid centers. Per Spotrac, he’ll be the NBA’s eighth highest-paid center this season, making more than Rudy Gobert and Alperen Şengün and just behind Sabonis and Chet Holmgren. Detroit also built the deal with a little give-and-take: his salary dips in the second year before climbing again, which pushes him down below Gobert and Şengün next year and, for now, to 11th among centers in 2027-28.
The Pistons clearly decided this was the line they were willing to draw, and they stuck to it. That matters because it keeps Detroit from locking itself into a shape it can’t later escape. If the goal is to keep building toward a real title push, flexibility still counts.
At the center of everything is Cunningham. He was first-team All-NBA last season and finished fifth in MVP voting, and Detroit’s next question is no longer whether he’s the guy.
It’s who fits next to him. Duren looked like a strong answer last season, but his playoff fade kept that discussion open.
“Cunningham proved he was a top-10 guy last season. He made a huge leap,” the scout said.
“The next step for him is playing off the ball. He’s so ball dominant.
Once you have a guy that just handles and makes every decision, you can scheme against him in the playoffs.
“They can have a great regular-season record but once you get into the playoffs, a team can scheme against the one action.”
Detroit’s roster construction still reflects that challenge. Duren and Thompson are both non-shooters, and that has created spacing issues.
The Pistons added Duncan Robinson’s shooting last year and brought in Isaiah Joe this offseason, while John Collins should help some as well. Even so, the biggest hole remains a secondary ballhandler who can ease the burden on Cunningham.
“Joe gives them another shooter. I like Isaiah.
But I don't think he's moving the needle. He's adding a piece, but he's not moving the needle for them to really take another step,” the scout said.
“The issue's going to come to: Can Cade play off the ball? Can he do it, or can't he?
And I don't know if he can. I don't know if he can shoot that well off the ball with somebody else handling.
He has to do what Jalen Brunson did. Make shots off the ball.
I don't know if Cade can do that. Cade makes his living getting into that mid-range and pulling up, or just being longer than guys and finishing in the paint.
“They need more out of their shooters, but I think another ballhandler that can make plays would be good for them. And then somebody with length to block shots.”
If those issues show up clearly, Detroit still has room to maneuver. The Pistons have the assets to matter in the trade market at the deadline or next season.
The summer also brought losses. Tobias Harris, who helped keep Detroit afloat in the playoffs while Duren struggled, left for the Spurs.
Isaiah Stewart was dealt to the Grizzlies as more of a financial move, ending a six-year run in which he became part of the team’s identity. Stewart was out of J.B.
Bickerstaff’s playoff rotation by the end, with Paul Reed emerging as the backup big.
Collins steps into Harris’ old starting spot and could fit well next to Cunningham. Joe adds more shooting. Ebuka Okorie, the rookie guard from Stanford, is a possible answer at secondary ballhandling down the line, though he’ll need time.
The bigger picture, though, is that Detroit kept its core together. Cunningham is locked in.
Duren is locked in. Thompson is locked in.
That matters after a summer that started messy and ended with the front office getting its business done.
A 60-win season is hard to repeat, and the Pistons may not match last year’s regular-season mark. But they’ve shown they belong, and they’ve positioned themselves as a real playoff team in the East.
The Duren negotiations were ugly, but the finish line is what counts. Detroit got the deal it was willing to live with, added pieces that fit its young core, and now has to prove it can take the next step when the games matter most.
In Other News...
Jalen Duren Just Sent Pistons Fans A Message They Needed
Jalen Durens new deal gives the Pistons something they badly needed: clarity. The young big man has locked himself in with Detroit on a long-term contract extension, and in doing so, he made it clear the franchise still has one of its most important pieces in place as it keeps building around its young core.
The bigger message, though, was about where his head is at. Duren pushed back on the talk that he wanted out of Detroit and said the speculation was off base, adding that hes committed to the city and the fans. He also looked back at his own play last season and said he expects more from himself, which is the kind of accountability Detroit has been waiting to hear. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Duren Commitment Comes With One Big Pistons Question
Jalen Durens restricted free agency finally gave way to the kind of long-term commitment the Pistons had been aiming for, even if the path there was anything but smooth. After a prolonged negotiation that reportedly left him feeling disrespected by the early offers, Duren agreed to a five-year, $200 million deal and publicly reiterated his commitment to Detroit, a notable development for a team trying to keep its core together while navigating the realities of the 2023 CBA and a roster that still has to make cleaner sense on the floor.
The bigger issue now is not whether Duren is part of the future, but how the Pistons build around him. He already acknowledged the need to improve after a humbling postseason performance, and Detroit has plenty to sort through as it balances talent, fit and cap constraints. Durens contract solves one piece of the puzzle, but it also raises the next question the front office has to answer: what does the rest of the roster need to look like to make this investment work? [Read more 🡒]