The Pistons have increased their offer to restricted free agent center Jalen Duren, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, but the two sides remain at an impasse in contract talks.
Charania reported the news on Monday’s episode of NBA Today (YouTube link).
“It’s highly up in the air and questionable as to whether (Duren) will be reporting and showing up to media day in just seven days,” Charania said. “ … When you talk to people close to him, (Duren) feels a certain way toward the Pistons’ respect level for him. For him, it’s been all about respect. For the team, it’s just been about business.
“This all started 12 months ago when Jalen Duren was extension-eligible … and he was offered $20MM (per year) on a take-it-or-leave-it deal. And that started kind of this thread line of disrespect that he feels like he has had from the Pistons.
“Over the course of this offseason, his offer has been (in the range of) $180-190MM over five years. That has also included incentives, like weight clauses, to my understanding. And that has played a part in this as well.
“Over the last several weeks, (it has) been kind of quiet on this front. The sides have picked up communication, and I am told right now the Pistons’ offer to Jalen Duren is $200MM over five years. … Clearly, there is no deal.”
Charania pointed out that Amen Thompson recently signed a five-year, $208MM rookie scale extension with the Rockets, a contract that figures to come up in talks between the Pistons and Duren. Thompson’s contract is fully guaranteed, but it certainly sounds like Duren’s offer isn’t.
As Tim MacMahon observed, Duren reporting to media day or not isn’t really a big deal. The far more important date is October 1, which is Duren’s deadline to accept his $9.6MM qualifying offer — essentially a one-year contract with an implied no-trade clause.
The Kings have been linked to Duren throughout the offseason, Marc Spears noted, but MacMahon said the 22-year-old would have other suitors beyond just Sacramento if he signs his QO to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Duren is coming off a fourth season in which he averaged 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 65.0% from the field and 74.7% from the foul line in 70 regular season contests (28.2 minutes per game). He was named to his first All-Star game and earned a spot on the All-NBA third team, which made him eligible for a five-year, $287MM contract from Detroit (as opposed to the 25% max of $239.2MM over five years).
As productive as he was during the regular season, Duren’s disappointing 2026 playoff showing has clouded his outlook to some extent. He averaged 10.2 PPG, 8.5 RPG and 2.1 APG while shooting 51.4% from the floor and 67.4% from the line in 14 postseason outings (30.1 MPG). The top-seeded Pistons were eliminated in the second round by Cleveland.
