This past summer, the Detroit Pistons opted not to re-sign Jalen Duren. Now, the big man has been producing at such a high level that he's absolutely proven himself worthy of a considerable extension, and made it clear that the front office made a mistake waiting to ink him to a new deal.
When Detroit chose to forego giving Duren a new deal, the only reason was to give themselves more time so that they could properly gauge his value relative to how the rest of the league viewed him. They didn't want to overpay and handicap themselves financially. But it's clear that Jalen is going to now get every dollar he wanted before, and likely even more than that.
You could argue part of his spectacular performance this year has been due to not having a new contract just yet. He's still playing on his rookie deal, earning just $6.4 million this season. He's obviously playing far above his contract value, but that is set to change in short order. Duren came into the season with a chip on his shoulder, wanting to prove the Pistons and everyone else wrong about him. It's safe to say he's achieved exactly what he set out to, up to this point.
Jalen Duren is almost certainly going to get the extension he desires
We've seen Duren put up a simply fantastic campaign through the first half of this season. He's averaging a career-high 17.8 points while shooting 63% and pulling down just under 11 rebounds per game. He's looking like a true star in the making, and his dominance on the interior has helped the Pistons reach a new level as a team.
Before the season, the hypothesis was that he could potentially plateau this year, and he may not be quite worth the contract he was asking for. It was a reasonable stance to take from Detroit's perspective. The last thing you want to do is get too eager or let your sentimentality for a player you acquired on draft night convince you of a decision that might otherwise not be the smartest.
But what Duren has shown us is that he now commands that kind of contract, beyond a shadow of a doubt. If the Pistons opt not to give it to him, someone else around the league certainly will.
So we can now say that Jalen Duren has 100% proven Detroit wrong. He is set to earn a massive payday, and I wouldn't expect the Pistons to hesitate handing it out to him one bit.