The Detroit Pistons and Jalen Duren failed to come to an agreement on an extension this past offseason, something that both sides could reap benefits from.
Duren and the Pistons were reportedly far apart on a contract number, with Duren seeking 30+ million annually, which Detroit felt was too steep for what he had accomplished on the floor so far.
Duren will be a restricted free agent next summer, so he could have taken the lower offer to get the guaranteed money now instead of waiting. Instead, he bet on himself, and so far, that bet appears to be a smart one.
Duren is averaging just under 15 points per game after his 33-point barrage last night, highest of his career. The wild thing is that he’s done it in only 22 minutes per game, lowest of his career, after missing most of the first two games with foul trouble and an ejection.
Duren is unlocking his immense potential on offense and doing it at just 21 years old, and if he keeps it up, he’ll get the contract he was after, and the Pistons will be happy to pay it.
Jalen Duren’s offense looks legit
Duren has a combination of quickness and power that is hard for most centers in the NBA to match, something the Pistons have been taking advantage of by calling his number more often this season.
He’s still mostly just dunking the ball, but we’ve also seen Duren face up and take his man off the dribble, post up a few times and even hit take a couple of 15 footers. Given that he’s only 21, these are huge evolutions in his game, as Duren was an offensive prospect and is starting to look every bit the part of a guy who could average 18-20 a game to go along with his elite rebounding.
This all looks sustainable as well, as Duren is getting a lot of his buckets off second-chance points (he’s second in the NBA) and at the free-throw line, where he is shooting nearly 84 percent on the young season.
If you can’t foul Duren to stop him, then he’s tough to stop, as we saw last night when the Mavericks had no answer for his rolls to the rim. As long as teams are paying so much attention to Cade Cunningham, that is going to be there for Duren, as defenses have to choose their poison. Either leave Cade one on one or allow Duren to roll to the rim for a lob.
The surprising thing is that Duren’s shooting numbers are down, and he still hasn’t even played that much, so the types of games he had last night are going to be more of a regular thing. The Pistons are 7-0 dating back to last season when Duren scores 20+ points, so it’s clearly something they need to continue to push.
Both Duren and Ausar Thompson appear to be making offensive leaps this season, which can push the Pistons to another level and make it unnecessary to make a big trade.