If the Jazz hadn't traded Walker Kessler to the Lakers at the start of the offseason, they could be facing a mess similar to what the Detroit Pistons are in with Jalen Duren. As Marc Stein of The Stein Line wrote on Sunday, Kessler's camp successfully applied pressure on Utah by letting the front office know that he would take his qualifying offer (subscription required):
There is no denying that the s-t-e-e-p trade price that the Lakers were willing to pay to trade for Kessler influenced Utah more than anything, but league sources say that Kessler's camp successfully convinced Jazz officials that he was absolutely determined to go the qualifying offer route this summer had he stayed in Utah and then proceed to restricted free agency next summer.
Like Kessler, Duren met with other teams at the start of free agency after Detroit didn't offer him what he wanted, but the Pistons made it clear they wouldn't engage in sign-and-trade discussions and would match an offer sheet if a team submitted one.
They maintained that stance throughout the summer, up until now, the eve of the deadline for Duren to accept his $9.6 million qualifying offer, so if his agent had tried to put pressure on Detroit, as Kessler did with Utah, it probably wouldn't have worked.
Pistons have maintained that they want to keep Duren
At media day on Monday, Trajan Langdon left no doubt that Duren would remain with the team, at least for the 2026-27 season. That means any last-ditch sign-and-trade efforts from teams that have expressed interest—the Kings, Hawks, Bucks, and Wizards—likely wouldn't matter to the Pistons.
Duren is closer to taking the qualifying offer route than Detroit wanted. As ESPN's Shams Charania first reported last week, the Pistons upped their offer to the center from $190 million over five years to $200 million, but it still wasn't enough. And if that wasn't enough reason for the front office to at least consider a sign-and-trade, nothing will be. Not even the threat of the qualifying offer.
Like the rest of us, Detroit seems to find it hard to believe that Duren would walk away from a $200 million deal and play out the season on less than $10 million, just for a chance to sign a four-year, $189 million max contract as an unrestricted free agent next summer that may not actually be on the table when the time comes.
It was clear that Duren was unhappy with negotiations with Detroit at the start of the offseason, and it's even clearer now, three months later. None of it has been enough for the Pistons to change their stance that they want the center as part of their long-term core, whether he actually wants to be in Detroit or not (and it doesn't seem like he does).
What worked for Walker Kessler wouldn't have worked for Jalen Duren.
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