Whether to sign Jalen Duren to an extension and how much to give him are two of the biggest questions facing the Detroit Pistons and Nic Claxton isn’t making it any easier.
The Pistons’ 21-year-old center improved this season after a slow start, and showed some of the two-way ability they were hoping for when they drafted him.
Duren still has plenty to improve on both ends. He’s a good passer and lob man on offense, but he can’t shoot at all and doesn’t have a go-to offensive move other than the put-back dunk.
Defensively, he still struggles to move laterally, though his rim protection did improve. However, he had to be switched off Karl Anthony-Towns in the playoffs, not a great sign for a guy they hope will evolve into a defensive anchor.
These flaws make it difficult to come up with an extension number for Duren, as the Pistons have to decide how much they are willing to pay for potential.
Detroit doesn’t have to do anything if the two sides can’t come to an agreement, as Duren would only be a restricted free agent after next season, so the Pistons would have some amount of team control even if they don’t extend him.
This is all being made more complicated by one overpaid center.
Jalen Duren vs. Nic Claxton
Nic Claxton is a guy many Pistons fans were hoping Detroit would pursue in free agency to replace Duren, a wish that looks preposterous in retrospect. Duren is better than Claxton at pretty much everything and you have to wonder if the Nets are regretting that signing after Claxton had another so-so season.
Brooklyn gave him 4 years/$100 million, which you can bet that Duren and his agent are going to point to as a starting point in negotiations for his extension.
I’d probably offer Duren something more in the 4/80 range, but he’s obviously not going to take that when an inferior player got more. The Pistons would love to keep Duren for somewhere in between what Ivica Zubac and Nic Claxton got, but Zubac’s deal now looks like a steal, while Claxton’s looks like an overpay.
The Pistons will Zubac as their comparison for Duren (when it comes to salary), but the Claxton contract will be tough for them to ignore.
The new CBA makes giving the wrong guy a big contract even more punitive, so the Pistons have to be careful here when it comes to Duren. If he rejects their initial offer, it won’t hurt to let him play out the season and see what happens.
What they can’t do is give him a giant deal based on potential that he may never reach, which is what looks like happened with Claxton, whose numbers have dipped the last two seasons.