Jalen Duren is declining the Pistons’ latest contract offer of $200MM fully guaranteed over five years as his standoff with the team continues, sources tell Eric Woodyard of ESPN.
In addition to missing Monday’s media day in Detroit, Duren will not attend training camp while he remains unsigned, according to Woodyard. The Pistons will begin camp on Tuesday in preparation for their preseason opener October 5.
Duren has been unhappy with the team’s offers since negotiations began in June, but the conflict has expanded beyond money, sources inform Woodyard. He writes that the 23-year-old center feels “disrespected by the process” and believes the team prioritized signing Ausar Thompson ahead of him. Thompson agreed to a five-year, $155MM extension last week.
The Pistons contend that their offer is fair and it’s more than Duren will likely make if he pursues unrestricted free agency next summer, Woodyard adds. He can do that by accepting his $9.6MM qualifying offer, which would mean walking away from roughly $190MM in guaranteed money. Woodyard points out that Duren would have to land a max deal in free agency in 2027 just to equal what the Pistons are offering now.
Duren faces an October 1 deadline to accept the QO, unless the team agrees to extend it. He will remain a restricted free agent if it expires.
Duren believes he’s worth a max or near-max deal after coming off his first All-Star season. He was a third-team All-NBA selection after averaging 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.8 blocks in 70 games while shooting 65% from the field.
However, he fell far short of those numbers in the playoffs as the top-seeded Pistons were eliminated by Cleveland in the second round. He was limited to 10.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocks during the postseason, and he was often benched in favor of Paul Reed.
The Pistons have stated throughout the negotiating process that they want to keep Duren for the long term, and their stance hasn’t changed, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).
