The Detroit Pistons and Jalen Duren are continuing their tedious standoff, and at this point, they are just dragging out the inevitable for no clear reason.
Yesterday, the Pistons sent team advisor and former head coach Dwane Casey out to do their PR work, ensuring everyone that Detroit was still very high on Duren and that everyone loved him and wanted him back. That message was really for an audience of one I imagine.
Negotiations have hit a wall, so maybe this was a way to jostle things loose, but one way or another, this deal needs to get done, as there is nothing for either side to gain by delaying Duren's next contract.
We all know the number, so just sign the contract already
Jalen Duren's camp has made it clear that they are looking for something in the neigborhood of the max deal Duren is eligible for after making All-NBA.
That notion was never going to fly with the Pistons anyway, especially after Victor Wembanyama, arguably the best player in the league, just signed for below the max in order to give his team more financial flexibility.
The Pistons weren't going to pay Duren the max before this, but they certainly aren't now, as they can use Wembanyama's money as a point of comparison. There's just no way Duren is worth anywhere near what Wembanyama just got, so hopefully that deal will light a fire under these negotiations.
The Pistons are reportedly offering somewhere in the $32-35 million range per season, which seems perfectly reasonable and would keep Duren at around 25 percent of the cap. The Pistons aren't going any higher than that, which I am sure Duren understands at this point. He has no leverage, so I am not sure what holding out is going to achieve other than potentially alienating people.
Jalen Duren has run out of options
The Pistons aren't giving Duren a max, and neither is anyone else, as there are no teams left with cap space and the Pistons aren't going to take any of the doo doo sign and trade offers they've been presented by teams like the Kings.
Duren's only option is Detroit if he wants to get paid, so he can either sign a contract for $35 million a year or sign the qualifying offer, lose a ton of money, have no future security and be one serious injury away from fumbling generational wealth. We've seen players like Quentin Grimes bet on himself with the QO, but he had far more to gain and not nearly as much to lose as Duren.
There's just nothing left for either side to get out of dragging this thing out, so the Pistons and Duren need to get this deal finished so Detroit can continue with their offseason.
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