Jalen Duren saga hits standstill that is holding the Pistons back

The Detroit Pistons have hit a wall in their negotiations with Jalen Duren, which has stalled their offseason. 

The story is clear at this point. Duren’s camp thinks he’s worth a max deal after an All-NBA season at age 22, and the Pistons reportedly want to offer him no more than $35 million, which is considerably lower. 

At this point, it’s a staring contest, as Duren has no leverage after striking out on sign-and-trade ventures with other teams, and there doesn’t seem to be another team out there that is willing or able to give him the contract he seeks. 

Even if there were other teams, the Pistons have made it clear they will match any offer, possibly in an attempt from scaring them away, so this saga has hit a standstill that is not likely to end anytime soon. 

Duren could just take the qualifying offer, which is not likely considering it would cost him around $25 million in guaranteed money, so there aren’t many other options for either side other than to come to an agreement they can both live with. 

Until they do, the Pistons are somewhat limited in the moves they can make. 

The Pistons have hit a wall that could lead to the tax 

Detroit still has the ammo and room to add another high-paid player and keep Jalen Duren, but some targets are off limits until they know how much they will have to commit to their center. 

The Pistons currently have enough under the first apron to sign Duren to a deal around the one they want to give him, but if they were to make a big trade before signing Duren, they would them potentially have to go into the tax to keep him. 

It would be easier if the Pistons could get the Duren deal completed under the apron and know exactly where they stand financially before committing to another player. It wouldn’t matter as much if that player were someone like Trey Murphy III, whose contract is far more reasonable, but if the Pistons are truly interested in someone like Kevin Durant, that will take some financial maneuvering when it comes to Duren. 

And if the Pistons are just going to end up with Duren anyway, they may as well just do it already. 

Just jump to the end 

The most likely scenario is that Duren re-ups with the Pistons. It’s not guaranteed, but at this point, it looks like the most likely outcome. 

If that’s the case, and both sides know this, then just get the deal finished already. Duren has to realize he’s not a max player and that teams are no longer handing out rubber stamp second contracts to guys who are not superstars. 

The Pistons also have to realize that they don’t have many other options either, and losing Duren at this point with no Plan B is a risky endeavor. 

Hopefully this will come to a happy conclusion soon, but neither side seems willing to blink, so this could drag on longer than anyone wants or needs it to. 

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