Jalen Duren and the Detroit Pistons are stuck at an impasse. Sam Amick and Hunter Patterson of The Athletic reported last week that the team had a five-year, $190 million deal on the table (subscription required, but that the center wants more than $200 million. He could accept his $9.6 million qualifying offer, hoping to set himself up for a maximum contract next summer. If he does that, he'll take heat off Jonathan Kuminga.
The new Timberwolves wing signed a two-year, $12.4 million contract with Minnesota this offseason. Just two years ago, he failed to reach an extension with the Warriors; Amick and John Hollinger told The Athletic that he wanted a deal (subscription required) worth $35 million annually, and Golden State didn't offer more than $30 million.
Last summer, when Kuminga was a restricted free agent, he turned down a three-year, $75.2 million deal from the Warriors with a team option in the final season. He ultimately agreed to a two-year, $48.5 million deal with a $24.3 million team option, which the Hawks declined at the start of the offseason.
Kuminga hoped to get more money this summer as an unrestricted free agent, but that didn't happen. As ESPN's Shams Charania reported, the wing turned down a three-year deal worth $12 million annually to sign a two-year deal with the Timberwolves, with a $6.4 million player option for next summer that he can decline to return to free agency for the third straight year.
As much of a head-scratcher as Kuminga's situation has been, Duren's could easily take the cake.
Jalen Duren is playing with fire
Kuminga going from a position where he could earn an average annual salary of $30 million to signing a deal worth a fifth of that two years later is malpractice, but think about what it'd be like for Duren to leave around $170 million on the table because that's what would happen if he plays out the season on the qualifying offer.
$170 million. That's more money than the average person could dream of even seeing in a lifetime, and Duren could walk away from it, betting on himself. That bet may not cash, though, even knowing that the Kings are interested in going after the center next summer if he's available. What if he gets hurt? Or he puts in another underwhelming playoff performance?
He could still have a deal waiting for him next summer, just not one offering $190 million over five years. That's more money than Kuminga was ever up for, which only makes Duren's situation riskier. He has a lot more to lose.
Whether Duren chooses that will be revealed soon enough, but before he decides, he could benefit from considering how things have worked out for Kuminga, who still hasn't learned his lesson.
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