Jalen Duren, one of the top free agents still out there, is playing hardball, and the Detroit Pistons just coughed up even more cash to try and keep him. Reportedly, the Pistons upped their offer to the big man by another $10 million, now putting a five-year, $200 million fully guaranteed deal on the table. This new offer, without any team or player options, is a serious upgrade from the $190 million they reportedly offered in August.
The Big Man’s Risky Play
This upgraded offer comes at a time when the Sacramento Kings and Milwaukee Bucks are also showing serious interest in Duren. Why wouldn’t they? Last year, the guy was one of the NBA’s most impactful big men, dropping 19.5 points and snagging 10.5 rebounds per game while shooting an insane 65 percent from the field. He even finished 11th in Defensive Player of the Year voting, all while the Pistons had the best record in the Eastern Conference. A player like that should have inked a deal already, right? But Duren and the Pistons have been stuck, making little progress over the last few months.
The September Deadline Looms
NBA insider Marc Stein dropped a bomb last week, reporting that Duren is “increasingly prepared to play out the coming season on his $9.6 million qualifying offer” if a deal isn’t done by the end of September. That would be wild, especially after the All-NBA season he just had! But as a restricted free agent, maybe it makes sense for Duren to punt on a huge deal this offseason. He could go for an even better 2026-27 campaign, then hit the market next summer as an unrestricted free agent. The Kings and Bucks would likely still be sniffing around then, too. The downside, though? A down year or a season-ending injury on that qualifying offer could absolutely tank his value. Let’s be real, his playoff run didn’t exactly boost his stock either, averaging just 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds across 14 contests. That gave the Pistons some reasons to question his worth.
Even with the qualifying offer looking more and more likely, this new $200 million proposal from Detroit at least proves they’re still talking. Whether those discussions actually lead to anything in the coming weeks remains the biggest question in the league.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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