The Lakers entered the offseason with Walker Kessler and Jalen Duren at the top of their wishlist and met with both. As Sam Amick of The Athletic reported on July 1, Los Angeles viewed the Detroit Pistons center as a "maximum-salary level player" (subscription required). Rather than get him, though, LA opted to pay a hefty price in a sign-and-trade for Walker Kessler, signing him to a four-year, $130 million contract.
Duren is still waiting for his payday, and as ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported on Tuesday, Detroit has presented a five-year deal worth $35 million annually, but the center wants more than $40 million.
So, here we are, at the beginning of September, with training camp around the corner, and the two sides are still far apart. While the Pistons could always raise their average annual offer closer to $40 million, the way negotiations have gone could push Duren to accept his $9.6 million qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent next summer.
If that happens, it could make the Pistons wish they'd been cooperative in a sign-and-trade with the Lakers, because then LA might've preferred Duren over Kessler and given the Pistons something in return for him.
Pistons have been against a sign-and-trade
Betting on yourself in free agency by taking the qualifying offer is risky as is, but even more so for Duren, as he'd be leaving a lot of money on the table, as in around $170 million, as MacMahon wrote.
Duren is coming off the best season of his young career, averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, resulting in an All-NBA third team selection and All-Star honor. However, there's no guarantee the kind of money the Pistons have offered him this offseason will still be there next summer, whether from them or another team.
It puts him in a riskier position than other restricted free agents, which is why it'd be extra shocking if he accepted his qualifying offer. Still, you can't count it out. Reports suggest Duren has been getting information he shouldn't hear, and that's on top of Detroit clearly not valuing him the way he believes he deserves.
Could everything combined be enough for Duren to accept his qualifying offer, especially knowing that the two sides remain apart?
Losing Duren would hurt, even if Detroit received a package similar to what Los Angeles sent Utah for Kessler, but his potentially walking in free agency for nothing would be disastrous.
The Pistons entered the offseason not wanting to do a sign-and-trade for Duren, since the plan was to keep him, so even if the Lakers had made an offer, Detroit might not have accepted. But if things between the team and the center take a turn for the worse, the front office could find itself wishing it had been open to doing business, and not just with LA.
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