Jalen Duren spent the final stretch of restricted free agency trying to squeeze every bit of leverage he could out of the Detroit Pistons. In the end, though, the 22-year-old center made the same basic calculation Jonathan Kuminga did not: when a team is putting $200 million on the table, walking away is a lot harder in practice than it sounds.
Duren has now ended the standoff by signing a five-year, $200 million contract that keeps him in Detroit for at least the time being. The deadline for the $9.6 million qualifying offer was approaching on Thursday night, and Duren pushed it close while floating the idea of using that offer as a bridge to unrestricted free agency next year. But the outcome was always going to come back to the money, and the money was enormous.
That’s what makes this another restricted free agency saga that never really got to the qualifying-offer stage. The Warriors went through a similar grind with Kuminga last offseason and held their ground until they landed him on a deal shaped on their terms, after months of talks and sign-and-trade ideas from the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns.
Kuminga’s path wound up costing him. He passed on two guaranteed years worth nearly $50 million, then chose a second-year team option in an attempt to gain control sooner.
Instead, the Atlanta Hawks declined his $24.3 million team option, and he was pushed into a smaller payday this summer. Kuminga eventually settled for a two-year, $12.4 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, with the hope of rebuilding his value and possibly opting out to hit free agency again next year.
For Duren, the headline is different. He didn’t lose out on a massive payday; he locked one in. Still, there’s a real argument that Detroit paid a premium, especially after his playoff impact fell short of the standard attached to that kind of number.
The Pistons may have called his bluff, but they also handed him a life-changing contract. The pressure now shifts to Duren: can he build on his first All-Star season and All-NBA Third Team selection, and can he clean up the issues that showed up in the postseason?
If not, Detroit could be sitting on a contract that becomes far harder to move than the Warriors’ situation with Kuminga last season. And if the relationship has already cooled, the Pistons may be stuck with a deal that only gets heavier from here.
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Steve Kerr Already Locked In Golden States Core Camp Decision
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Steve Kerr has already made one lineup choice clear for the new season, and it speaks to how the Warriors want to open this next chapter. Green and Curry will be on the floor together when the season begins, preserving the veteran backbone that has defined Golden State for years while leaving the bigger questions about how the rotation evolves around them for later. [Read more 🡒]