On Monday, BullsRoundtable published an article about why Chicago should target Detroit Pistons big man Jalen Duren in restricted free agency this summer. However, restricted free agency can be a mess — as the Bulls know from the Josh Giddey saga last summer — so today, we're taking a look at exactly how the Bulls could acquire the Pistons' All-Star center.

As a restricted free agent, Duren can sign an offer sheet with any of the 29 other teams. The maximum contract that a team could sign Duren to would be worth $165 million over four years ($41.25 million annually), or $198 million over four years ($49.5 million annually) if he makes an All-NBA team. Detroit can offer him a fifth year as the team that drafted him, which would stretch his deal to $206.25 million without an All-NBA team nod and a whopping $247.5 million with the honor.

But given Duren's playoff struggles, it makes sense for Detroit to allow Duren to seek out a deal elsewhere and decide whether or not to match it.

There's nothing the Bulls could do if the Pistons match their offer sheet, as Detroit has his rights and would thus get the final say on signing him. However, there is still the possibility of a sign-and-trade.

This framework assumes two things. First, Detroit must not want to match Duren's offer sheet. The team would rather agree to a sign-and-trade than let him walk for nothing, which is why the return would probably less than an All-Star would usually net in a trade. Detroit does not have leverage if it doesn't intend to bring Duren back, and the Pistons would be forced to work with the team that Duren chooses in restricted free agency.

Second, the Bulls would need to find a third team to dump Patrick Williams' contract onto. This is because Williams' contract is such a negative asset that acquiring him would not be reasonable in helping Detroit's championship aspirations at all. The Pistons' primary motivations in this deal would be to strengthen their depth while creating cap space to target another star to pair with Cade Cunningham.

Thankfully for Chicago, the franchise is armed with a boatload of second-round picks to entice Memphis in this scenario. Here's what a potential deal could look like, according to Spotrac's trade machine:

Detroit would probably only accept this deal if the front office knew they weren't going to pay him and knew that his next contract would be the "kiss of death" for the contending franchise. If the Pistons are able to look past Duren's playoff struggles — in which his scoring plummeted to 10.2 points per game on 51.4% shooting and his defense was diced up by the Magic and Cavaliers — Detroit would certainly net more for him in a trade when he isn't a restricted free agent.

Monday's article explained that acquiring Duren, if possible, would not compromise the Bulls' rebuild because of both his age (22) and the changing NBA Draft Lottery rules. However, giving up significant first-round draft capital for Duren would be reckless and antithetical to everything Bryson Graham has preached during his first month as Chicago's top exec.

Many of the players that the Bulls could draft at No. 15 overall are similar in age to Duren, and with the No. 4 overall pick also in Chicago's control, it would make sense for Graham to use No. 15 overall to trade for a young star like Duren. Anything beyond that jeopardizes the future of a Bulls team that's largely still up in the air.

If Detroit doesn't want to retain its All-Star center and doesn't want to attempt to trade him on a supermax contract, Chicago would have the leverage in any deal. Getting anything back for Duren — even second-round picks or role-players like Tre Jones and Isaac Okoro — would be better than losing him for nothing.

It's a longshot that any of this happens, of course, but anything is possible in the NBA offseason.