After committing to long-term deals with both Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren this offseason, the Detroit Pistons are now committed to their young core.
The Thompson deal should age well, as he’s already worth what he’s going to get, and an offensive leap could make his deal look like a huge steal down the road.
Duren’s $200 million deal is a bit more daunting, but the Pistons have built a small safety net that should make it easier to continue to build a sustainable roster around them.
Pistons used smart planning in the Jalen Duren contract
I was hoping the Pistons would do a de-escalating deal with Duren that paid as much of his contract in the first couple of years, as then his cap percentage would go down every year, which makes his contract less risky as he ages.
The Pistons didn’t do this exactly, but they did an up-and-down in the first two years (according to Mike Scotto among others) before the salary rises modestly in each year after:
2026-27: $40.16 million
2027-28: $36.95 million
2028-29: $38.96 million
2029-30: $40.96 million
2030-31: $42.97 million
Duren will get a big chunk next season before Ausar Thompson’s extension kicks in, and then it will dip down $4 million in the second year, so the two of them combined will be making $62 million, which is just 35 percent of the salary cap.
At their peak, the duo of Duren and Thompson will make a combined $76 million, which should be a similar percentage of the salary cap, possibly even less depending on how much it goes up.
That means the Pistons are essentially getting two players for the cost of one max deal, so even though these numbers may look huge, the percentage of the salary cap is more important than the total amounts.
Even if the salary cap didn’t go up from what it is now (which is extremely unlikely), Duren and Thompson will still only be making 43 percent of the cap combined, and that’s the worst-case scenario.
The Pistons have room for another star
The Pistons may not have room for another supermax player, but they should continue to have wiggle room to add another star.
Other than the trio they are building around, the Pistons don’t have any long-term money on the books, so they are well positioned for the short and long term.
They have a deep roster now and the financial flexibility to make moves at the deadline, so even though this Duren situation didn’t go smoothly, the Pistons have planned it out in a way that should work financially for the long term.
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