There's a way for both the Pistons and Jalen Duren to win

If you are like me then you are absolutely sick of hearing about Jalen Duren’s contract standoff with the Detroit Pistons, but we are nearly into August and it’s the only outstanding business the Pistons have left. 

To their credit, the Pistons have said all of the right things, as they’ve made it clear they want Duren back, value his services, but won’t give him a max deal that is far above his market value. 

Duren proved that market himself by failing to get a single offer sheet or being able to find a sign-and-trade that made any sense at all for the Pistons. There wasn’t a team out there willing to give Duren the contract he wanted, and if he were to follow through on his threat to take the qualifying offer, he’d likely end up with less money overall. 

With the Pistons unwilling to budge on their offer, it may be time to revisit the terms, in which case there is one option that makes a lot of sense. 

Jalen Duren and the Pistons should do a shorter deal 

We talked about the possibility of Duren taking a shorter deal as Jalen Green did when he was unable to come to an agreement with the Rockets. 

The Pistons may be willing to offer slightly more annual money if Duren were to accept a 3-year deal with a team option, which is where this seems to be headed. 

This type of deal would give Duren time to revamp his image, show that he’s not a playoff choker and still only be 25 years old the next time he’s up for a big deal. He’d only then be entering his prime, so this would allow him to get his money now but be set up for an even bigger deal in the future. 

This would keep the Pistons from having to commit to Duren for the full five seasons and would give them an out clause if things weren’t going well. 

Of course, there is more risk in this option for the team than the player, as the Pistons would likely suffer a bigger cap hit over the next three seasons and then have to deal with this all over again in a few short years. 

But it would put Duren on a deal that would be much easier to move, so ultimately may be a wash when it comes to risk. 

If Duren and the Pistons can’t come to an agreement, then it makes sense to change the parameters of the deal. This would allow Duren to bet on himself with far less risk than taking the qualifying offer and would give the Pistons less long-term commitment. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow