Jalen Duren is only 21 years old and is already an established double-double machine, so he seems the most likely of the two extension eligible Pistons (the other being Jaden Ivey) to get a new contract before October. If the Pistons work it right, it can be hugely beneficial to their cap sheet.
Duren still has question marks as both a defender and offensive player, but he’s shown enough in his early career to predict that we haven’t seen the best of him yet, which makes him a fairly safe investment for Detroit if they want to extend him before the season starts.
Duren’s floor is a top 15 center in the league, which he is now, and when you look around at some of the other center contracts given out recently, his next contract will be at least $100 and likely more.
Bleacher Report predicted Duren would get $112 million over four years, while The Athletic predicted he would get five years for $125 million.
The actual number will fall somewhere in that range, but the total dollar amount isn't as important as other details the Pistons can work into the deal.
Jalen Duren should get a front-loaded extension with team option for the Pistons
You can argue about whether Duren is “worth” $100+ million at this stage of his career, but he’s going to get it whether you like it or not.
The Pistons would be smart to front load this contract, giving Duren as much of it now as possible to offset the later years when Detroit’s payroll will be a lot more expensive.
The Pistons arguably have the cleanest cap sheet in the NBA, with no bad contracts and only one expensive long-term deal which belongs to All-NBA guard Cade Cunningham, so the Pistons are the least expensive playoff team in the league.
But that’s not going to last, as Ivey and Duren are eligible for extensions now and Ausar Thompson will be eligible next summer. After that, the Pistons have Ron Holland to think about, so all of these rookie deals aren’t going to last forever.
If the Pistons can get the expensive years of Duren’s contract out of the way soon, they’ll be in a better position to absorb the extensions coming to Thompson and Holland.
It will also make Duren’s contract far more valuable, as it will lessen as it goes, which would potentially make him easier to move in a trade down the line if necessary.
Detroit should also be pushing for a team option at the end of the deal, which will give them more leverage and not stick them in the situation Chicago is in by stupidly giving contracts with player options in the final season, which means they’ll be paying Jevon Carter and Patrick Williams until the bitter end.
If the Pistons can extend Duren to a front-loaded deal with a team option, they’ll be in a great position to keep their current core and not have any bad money on the books.