The Detroit Pistons are standing firm in their position with restricted free agent center Jalen Duren
It is no secret that in a perfect world, the Detroit Pistons would have already wrapped up their contract negotiations with 22-year old center Jalen Duren long before now.
After Detroit’s second round departure from the playoffs last season, Pistons President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon met with the media and spoke about how the team made several big strides during the year before ultimately coming up short in the postseason. Langdon went on to detail the changes that he foresaw coming up in the summer, and he spoke with a sense of optimism about re-signing Duren to a long-term deal.
At the time, bringing JD back seemed to be more of a formality than anything given the fact that he was coming off an All-NBA Third Team year where he averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, career numbers for the big man. But during the summer, it became obvious to the Pistons that the market was not right for Duren to cash in on a substantial payday elsewhere, so the leverage actually shifted from JD over to Detroit shortly after the 2026 NBA Draft.
Initially, Duren held meetings with the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings shortly after free agency opened up, but those talks never went anywhere, which made JD’s situation even more precarious since he’s expecting a deal in the ballpark of a max contract.
“No team in the league has cap space this late in the offseason, and the Detroit Pistons have made it very clear since before free agency began that they are not interested whatsoever in any sign-and-trade scenarios,” Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints wrote. “No teams have approached them since Summer League inquiring about a Jalen Duren sign-and-trade because all the signals have been that he will be back in Detroit for the 2026-27 season.”
So, the ball is in Duren’s court at the moment with the Pistons entrenched in their position to bring the All-Star back on a long-term basis for a more team-friendly price. Detroit still intends to sign Ausar Thompson to a long-term extension this offseason as well, so JD can either sign a one-year qualifying offer with a great degree of inherent risk attached or he could agree to a long-term deal worth less than the max value that he’s seeking.
“The question at large, however, is whether he will sign a new long-term contract or take his one-year, $9.6 million qualifying offer,” Siegel wrote. “Around the league, nobody anticipates Duren taking that one-year offer and betting on himself, especially coming off the All-Star and All-NBA season he had.”
The Pistons view Duren as a key piece of their core, so it will be important to work out an agreement before training camp arrives. Detroit parted ways with Isaiah Stewart over the summer, so that means Paul Reed will be bumped up to the back-up center role this season, but Duren is still expected to lead the way as the team’s first choice at the five once he signs his deal this offseason.
