The Sacramento Kings have offered Jalen Duren a potential way out of his standoff with the Detroit Pistons, but it’s a risky one, and would show a lot about what he really values.
The Kings reportedly tried to orchestrate a sign-and-trade for Duren early in the offseason using Domantas Sabonis as bait, but the Pistons were not interested. The Hoop Collective podcast reported that Duren met with GM Scott Perry, who reportedly has targeted Duren as a potential free agent next summer.
But there’s only one way that is going to happen, and it’s a risky one for Duren.
Jalen Duren can take a one-year risk for a potential max payoff
If Duren insists upon getting a max deal from someone, his best chance may be the Kings, who should have plenty of cap space next summer with some big contracts coming off the books.
A young All-Star center would be a nice get to pair with Darius Acuff Jr., so if Duren reaches free agency, expect the Kings to be there with a big offer.
The only way that will happen is if Duren accepts the qualifying offer of $9.6 million, which would mean leaving a ton of guaranteed money on the table, a move that rarely works out for players.
The list of guys who thought they could hold out for more money and then didn’t get it is a long one and includes some recent entries like Jonathan Kuminga, whose agent should probably stop going on TV.
Duren’s agent may be doing the apology tour next season if he turns down what is reportedly around $35 million a year to chase a pipe dream that ends with him on the Kings.
Duren would have to not only take the risk of making it through the season healthy and having a good year, but his big lifeline would mean playing for the Sacramento Kangz.
Does Duren really want to play for the Kings?
Look, the Pistons were terrible for over a decade and have only recently crawled out of the abyss, so we can’t laugh at the Kings too much, but let’s also be real; They are the Kings.
This is arguably the worst franchise in the league, a black hole where recent careers have gone to sputter out and die. If Duren wants to be a Zach LaVine, a guy putting up meaningless numbers on a bad team while collecting fat paychecks, there is a path for him to do it.
If winning matters, he’ll find a way to eat his ego and come to a compromise with the Pistons, who give him a far better shot of winning a title sometime in the near future than the stinking Kings. Being on a winning team also offers pathways to money that won't be there toiling anonymously in Sacramento.
The road to a max deal is there for Duren, but it is laden with risk and red flags and may not turn out the way he imagines.
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