The Detroit Pistons’ well-publicized standoff with Jalen Duren is now entering the second week of September, and it’s time for Duren to sign already.
I normally side with the players in these negotiations, and I am here, as I do think Duren’s performance last season warrants a big raise even if he wasn’t good in the playoffs.
The Pistons are offering that raise, with a reported deal worth as much as 175-180 million over five seasons on the table.
But Duren is reportedly seeking upwards of $40 million per season, a gap which seems like peanuts when we are talking about these kinds of gaudy numbers, the likes of which the average person can only dream.
I get why Duren wants more, as he did what the Pistons asked, and his fluky addition to the All-NBA team made him eligible for a supermax deal worth $287 million.
The reality is much different, and it’s time Duren accepts it.
Jalen Duren is not getting a max deal from anyone
Duren has 21 days before media day, which is when things will get ugly if he is not signed. Training camp starts the next day and if he’s not there, his offseason drama starts leaking into the season.
And at this point, there isn’t any reason to continue this nonsense.
Any team that wanted to offer Duren a max contract could have done it, but not a single offer sheet came in for the Pistons’ center.
One reason is that Detroit promised to match any deal, but we all know there is a number they wouldn’t have touched, so if some team really wanted Duren, they probably could have stolen him or at least worked out a sign-and-trade.
But there was never a palatable deal on the table, and since there are no teams left with cap space, the Pistons hold all of the cards here. The market has spoken, and it said Duren is not worth $40 million a year.
That’s not just the Pistons, that’s the rest of the league.
The deal the Pistons are offering is at least as much, if not more, than any other team can or will offer for Duren, at least right now.
He has a potential lifeline with the Kings, but that would require him to take the qualifying offer, play out next season, and then hope Sacramento (or some other team) offers him the full max.
He would still only break even financially in that scenario, and a lot of things would have to go his way, or he could take the safe route and build something special with the Pistons. In either scenario, he’ll make the exact same money, but that’s only if a team offered him the full max after next season, which is far from a given.
Duren really only has one choice here, and it’s to re-sign with the Pistons on the deal they are offering, which is not substantially less than he wants and represents his full market value as a basketball player.
You won’t catch me siding with the billionaire owners, but this is about the reality of the situation. What the Pistons are offering is fair, and it’s the safest and best deal Duren is going to get, so he and his agent need to wise up and sign the contract already.
Add us as a preferred source on Google