Toronto Raptors Could Trade for Jalen Duren After Kawhi Leonard Extension

General manager Bobby Webster and the Toronto Raptors can finally take a breath after completing the trade for seven-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard and signing him to an extension. The two-and-a-half-month delay ultimately led to a 2-year, $115 million deal, which is concerning to many observers given the 35-year-old’s lackluster durability over the last decade. 

Just because the heavy lifting is done doesn’t mean the offseason is complete for the Raptors or any other franchise. Trade rumors continue to swirl around Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, and Jakob Poeltl due to their substantial contracts that could severely limit the Raptors’ future. While the easy route would be to see how the three supporting starters will play alongside Leonard, the time to build the best possible roster is now, while the two-time Finals MVP is still in his prime. 

Although NBA training camps and preseason are set to begin in just about a week, the offseason is far from over for some franchises. While this isn’t the typical timeline for a restricted free agent, Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren is still in talks with the organization to return for the foreseeable future, but they aren’t seeing eye to eye financially. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the offer has gotten up to five years for $200 million, which he has yet to accept.

While there aren’t any credible mentions of a sign-and-trade in discussions, it shouldn’t be completely ignored. If Duren continues to feel disrespected, he could sign the qualifying offer for this season, which would allow him to become an unrestricted free agent next summer and sign to whoever has the cap space to afford him. As a team looking to contend for a championship, the Pistons can’t afford to let him walk for nothing.

It may be a risk, but if Webster were smart, he would call Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon to see if there is a trade they would be open to. The extent of a package could be murky at this point, considering there is no tell as to how desperate the Pistons are. But even if their price is steep, the Raptors have quite the offer in terms of draft compensation alone. 

Trading away key young players like Collin Murray-Boyles, Ja’Kobe Walter, or Allen Graves should be off the table for Toronto. Their rookie contracts are extremely valuable as the Raptors look to make deep playoff runs over the next few seasons, so sending out draft picks is the much more viable option. That’s especially true considering they have first-round picks in 2028, 2030, and 2032 that they can send if necessary, along with second-round picks in 2027-29. 

Three first-round picks for Duren would be fairly unbelievable after trading away two for Leonard. The caveat is that, in order to acquire the All-NBA big man, Poeltl and Barrett would have to be sent to Detroit to match the contracts, so the Raptors could kill two birds with one stone by cutting down three big contracts for supporting players down to one. 

Another aspect that would validate sending away so much draft capital has to do with the specifics of Leonard’s extension. He was given a player option in the final year (2028-29), with the idea that he could sign a new extension to push the end of his career into the 2030s (via Jake Fischer). With this in mind, the Raptors could solidify their core of Leonard, Scottie Barnes, Duren, Quickley, Murray-Boyles, Walter, and Graves for at least the next three seasons, with potential for more. It may be a lofty idea, but outside of the San Antonio Spurs, there may not be any team in the NBA with a more established and lengthy championship window if Webster can get it done.