Jalen Duren's agent is working overtime but the Pistons will play it cool

The Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren negotiations hit a snag last night when his agent announced that the restricted free agent would be exploring sign and trade options with the Sacramento Kings. Sure. 

My first response to this was to laugh heartily, as threatening to leave a 60-win team to go to the Kings is like threatening to leave a Michelin starred restaurant to go to White Castle because the person paying for your meal balked at buying you a 4th dessert. 

The news was reported by Sam Amick, and no offense to Sam at all, but it does seem like Duren’s agent probably spoon fed him this information for this exact result. 

When the Kings information didn’t get the desired outcome, Duren’s camp also added the Lakers to the list of teams he could defect to in restricted free agency. 

Pistons fans immediately started worrying we’d have to take the Kings best offer or get stuck with Domantas Sabonis, but the Pistons still have all of the leverage in this deal and I wouldn’t be shocked if Duren is right back in Detroit at the end of all of this. 

The Pistons still have leverage with Jalen Duren 

Neither the Kings nor the Lakers have made an offer sheet to Duren, mainly because they don’t have the cap space to do so, which is why they are exploring sign and trades. In other words, they aren't much of a threat if the Pistons don't let them be.

The Pistons do not have to agree to a sign and trade with either of these teams or any other just because Jalen Duren wants to go there. 

And let’s be clear: There is no chance Duren wants to play for the stinking Kangz next season. He’s fresh off a 60-win year and back-to-back playoff appearances with the Pistons, not to mention that he and Cade Cunningham are close friends. 

This all seems like agent talk to get the Pistons back to the table with a number closer to the max. The sides are still reportedly far apart, but there has to be a number they can both live with. 

The Pistons have to explore other options 

Even though the Pistons hold all the cards, they have to take this seriously, especially if they’ve already hit the salary line with Duren that they don’t want to cross. 

I can’t blame them, as locking Duren into a five-year max would be an insane risk at this point in his career, and it’s frankly a contract that he has not earned after bombing in the playoffs two years in a row. 

His management team may think the Pistons are up against it after trading Isaiah Stewart, but there are still myriad options at center Detroit could explore if Duren truly wants to play hardball. 

The Pistons don’t have to blink here and shouldn’t, as they have the leverage. And to be honest, if Jalen Duren would truly leave the Pistons for the Kings, he’s not the kind of player we want in Detroit anyway. 

That’s probably not the case, so I would still bet on Duren ending up in Detroit, but the possibility of him leaving is getting real. 

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