If Jalen Duren accepts his $9.6 million qualifying offer, that would tell the Detroit Pistons everything they need to know: it's about the money. By doing so, he'd be leaving a lot on the table, as ESPN reported that the team offered him a five-year deal worth $35 million annually, but in his eyes, it'd be setting him up for a larger payday next summer. That could come from the Kings, who are holding out hope he's available next summer, but you couldn't overlook the Clippers.
Los Angeles may not seem like a top destination for talented young players like Duren, and that's because it's not. The NBA penalties it issued to the Clippers for funneling Kawhi Leonard millions of dollars, including the loss of five first-round picks, cast an even darker cloud over the organization.
How much would that matter to Duren if LA is willing to give him the kind of contract he wants, if he hits unrestricted free agency next summer?
The Clippers can create $50 million in cap space in 2027, and depending on how the 2026-27 season goes for Duren if he takes the qualifying offer, they could throw a large sum of that at him. He'd give them a talented young player to pair alongside Keaton Wagler, generating hope for the future.
Clippers could actually be a destination for Duren
It's not often a team like the Kings can say they have a positive upper hand, but if Duren has no interest in joining an organization that screwed itself over as the Clippers did, Sacramento would.
There would be reason to think that Los Angeles would have a chance, though, and not just for the money. Duren would get to enjoy being in one of the top media markets, and he could be drawn to the idea of helping the Clippers get back on course — that is, if you think they were ever truly on it.
If Duren is drawn to the idea of being in Sacramento, a team he met with in free agency earlier this summer, it'd mean that being in a winning situation doesn't matter as much to him. That could serve as an in for the Clippers, as long as they throw a bag at him.
They should want to invest in him if he keeps playing at the level he did in the regular season, as he'd make losing five first-round picks a little better. And it's not like Los Angeles lost everything in its draft cabinet, so its world isn't ending (though it may feel that way), but adding Duren would help offset what the organization will lose.
Of course, what would be optimal for the Pistons is for none of this to be in play, since that'd mean Duren would sign a multi-year deal to stay in Detroit. But the longer this all goes on, the more it feels like he really could take the qualifying offer route.
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