The Pistons have less than a week left to extend Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey before allowing them to become restricted free agents next summer. There have been no reports of any progress in negotiations between the Pistons and either player, which could mean that no deals will be reached by October 20th.
The Pistons risk damaging their relationship with young stars
Both Duren and Ivey are entering the final season of their rookie-scale contracts and are eligible for extensions. However, there are no indications that the Pistons will be extending such offers to them before the start of the season. Overall, it has been an extremely quiet offseason for rookie extensions, as only five players from the entire 2022 draft class have received extensions.
Restricted free agency has proven to be an advantageous tool for hesitant teams to retain their young players. This summer, we saw teams use it to either negotiate their players down from their original asking price or keep them around for another year on a minimum contract. If the Pistons enter that position next year, they will be looking for more of the former than the latter.
Although the Pistons have had an exciting preseason so far, neither Ivey or Duren has seen much action. Duren has missed both preseason games so far with hamstring soreness (although he has shown flashes of his usual athleticism in practice videos) and Ivey only played the first game for 14 minutes before sitting out the second. Both have important roles to play this season, and excelling in those roles may have encouraged the Pistons to get a deal done early.
With Ivey, the Pistons are looking for him to take a leap as Cade Cunningham's co-star. He will need to be an efficient scorer and playmaker for the Pistons to reach their desired goals and earn his desired contract. If he's unable to meet these demands while the rest of the team is ready for another step, the Pistons may hesitate to offer him a big contract or even look in other directions.
Duren's case is a little different: the Pistons are largely looking for him to maintain a level of play he's already shown, with marginal improvements. Duren had a great second half of last season after Ausar Thompson returned to full health, and his offensive aggression combined with defensive awareness in those games led to success for the team. With maintained focus on defense and some flashes of new offensive skills, Duren can make his next contract a no-brainer for the Pistons.
It's now becoming painfully obvious that the Pistons will not extend their two 2022 draftees before the season. With the players seemingly bound for restricted free agency, the Pistons could strain their relationships with both. Whether or not they end up regretting their hesitance on signing an extension early will remain to be seen.