Jalen Duren stalemate has put the Pistons' most obvious move on hold

The Jalen Duren drama has dominated the narrative around the Detroit Pistons’ offseason, which has made it easy to lose sight of other business they need to take care of, including an early extension for Ausar Thompson. 

I’m not going to belabor the Duren stuff, as I am sick of writing about it at this point, but the latest news is that there is no news and nothing has changed in his stalemate with the Pistons. 

We have to hope this doesn’t leak into the regular season, but until this Duren deal gets done, the Pistons can’t move onto what should be much easier negotiations. 

Pistons don’t want to go through this next summer with Ausar Thompson 

The Duren contract saga will eventually end one way or another, but it has been a frustrating process that has slowed the Pistons’ offseason to a halt. 

This is not a scenario the Pistons want to repeat next summer with Ausar Thompson, which is why it would be smart for them to lock him into an early extension now, which they didn’t do last summer with Duren. 

We are now seeing the results, as Duren is not only likely to make more money after his All-NBA campaign, but his restricted free agency has been a thorn in the Pistons side this summer. 

Last summer, Duren wanted $30 million a year, a number the Pistons would now be ecstatic to offer him. Detroit is reportedly offering $35 million, and Duren is holding out for more, but this all could have been avoided if they had just done a deal last offseason. 

Now it’s Ausar Thompson’s turn, and this one should be a no-brainer for the Pistons. Thompson plays a more important position and has already proven himself to be an All-World defender and the Pistons second-most important player. 

Even if Thompson doesn’t improve at all, he’s still more valuable as a wing defender. The Pistons are betting he will improve (I’d also make that bet), so locking him into a deal now will likely save them money and headaches down the road.

Unlike Duren, Thompson would almost certainly get attention in restricted free agency next summer, and the Pistons would probably be in a bidding war with other teams trying to poach him. 

He’s an obvious candidate for an extension, and I do believe the Pistons will try to get it done this summer to avoid more future drama. 

But they want to get this Duren deal done first, so we’ve once again hit a standstill that won’t end until one of the Pistons or Duren decides to blink. It's become a tedious affair of late and one I am sure most fans wish would end so that the team can move onto other matters.

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