After a long career in the NBA, Brendan Haywood understands how contract negotiations go, and he thinks Jalen Duren should take his deal from the Detroit Pistons
With just two weeks left in September, the clock is ticking on restricted free agent Jalen Duren’s decision on where or not to sign his qualifying offer from the Detroit Pistons. Despite over three months of negotiating during the offseason, the two sides still haven’t reached a long-term agreement, but Duren is running out of moves to make.
Initially, Duren held meetings with the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings at the very start of free agency to gauge interest, but the 22-year old All-Star walked away without a deal from either club. After that, the Kings remained heavily interested and would reportedly bite at the opportunity to land the big man in a sign-and-trade, but the Pistons are less enticed to pursue that particular avenue.
Since Detroit has the cash to lock JD up long-term, the organization has essentially communicated that he can either accept his qualifying offer for just under $10 million next season and become a free agent in the summertime or he can ink a long-term agreement worth slightly less than he was angling for at the top of free agency. Duren has until Oct. 1 to decide whether the qualifying offer is right for him, so there is still hope that they come to a resolution in the next two weeks.
With regards to that tenuous situation, 13-year NBA vet Brendan Haywood was recently on Gil’s Arena, a podcast hosted by none other than Gilbert Arenas himself, and the seasoned big man shared his advice for Duren amid a cloudy contract negotiation.
”I would just say this: don’t miss out on 190 trying to chase that extra $10 million,” Haywood said. “If you got 190, you’re going to live the same life. But if you don’t get the 190, things could be a little different. If he goes into the season, we’ve got to worry about injuries. Injuries can change what they offer you, then the second part of this is if he goes into the playoffs again and this happens again, not only will your team not want to offer you 190, nobody else will want to offer it to you either. The first year when you’re young, they’ll be like ‘it’s your first time experiencing the playoffs. He’s gonna grow’. It’s a different game. The game slows down, it’s more physical. But if it happens again, then they start saying that’s who he is. Jalen Duren can’t afford to risk that. I’ve seen way too many guys mess up their bag pocket watching.”
As Haywood alluded to, Duren’s restricted free agency is not so simple because of its timing. During the 2025-26 campaign, Duren had a career year with nearly 20 points and 11 rebounds per game, which made the fourth-year pro a rightful selection for the All-Star Game, but his production fell off an absolute cliff once the Pistons reached the playoffs.
During round one against the Orlando Magic, Duren struggled mightily against Wendell Carter Jr. in the paint, and Detroit had to find other solutions in crucial moments of the series. After that, Duren had more pressure on his shoulders in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the Memphis product ultimately performed in a similar fashion and ceded impactful minutes to Paul Reed toward the end of the seven-game series.
But since Duren made the All-NBA Third Team as a product of his hard work, the big man is eligible to receive a max deal at 25% of the salary cap in the ballpark of $41 million. If Duren signed a deal for that amount, he’d be tied for the seventh-highest paid center in the league.
”I understand you’re leaving a little bit of money on the table, but on your first mega-deal, please get the 190,” Haywood said. “I don’t want to hear about Jalen Duren looking like Jonathan Kuminga in a couple years because that Kuminga situation is nasty. He could’ve taken the money a long time ago. I think Duren needs to take the money right now. It’s a great contract— $38 million over the next couple of years, then as you build out you’ll be able to do even more as the salary cap and everything continues to go up.”
While the Pistons’ offseason schedule has certainly been delayed by the Duren deliberations, the organization will most likely proceed to Ausar Thompson’s rookie scale extension once this business is finished up first. If Duren takes his qualifying offer, then the Pistons would have a lot more money to work with at that point in time, so their financial future is going to gain a lot of clarity in short order.
