The standoff between Jalen Duren and the Detroit Pistons has stretched into September, an unusual holdout for a recently crowned All-Star and third-team All-NBA player from the Eastern Conference’s top seed last season. An executive from another team said there “is still a gap” between the sides, and personnel around the league expect the talks to continue.
Negotiations have been ongoing since last summer. The sides did not reach an agreement before last fall’s extension deadline, shelving discussions until the current offseason and placing Duren in a prove-it position. He responded with a breakout season at age 22, averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds and anchoring Detroit’s 60-win regular season, though his playoff averages dipped to 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Money is the central sticking point. According to league sources, Detroit has offered a five-year deal in the neighborhood of $35 million per season, while Duren and agent Chafie Fields are seeking an average salary north of $40 million. A Western executive acknowledged that both sides have defensible positions, while an Eastern rival suggested Duren and his camp are holding out for near-max terms and being unrealistic about the market.
That gap places Duren in rarefied company if he were to secure the higher figure: only six centers — Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, Domantas Sabonis, Rudy Gobert and Alperen Sengun — are slated to earn more than $35 million next season, with Chet Holmgren sometimes considered in that group. Walker Kessler is the only other center expected to make more than $30 million after moving in a sign-and-trade to the Lakers on a four-year, $130 million deal. Detroit has firmly denied any inquiries about a sign-and-trade for Duren.
Duren’s All-NBA nod also makes him eligible for the Rose Rule supermax (a deal starting at roughly 30 percent of the salary cap, about five years and $287 million). The Pistons, however, are holding to an offer well below the 25 percent maximum available to many players exiting their rookie deals. Only three members of Duren’s 2022 draft class — Holmgren, Paolo Banchero and Jalen Williams — secured the 25 percent max last summer and will make about $41.2 million this season; each is also among the class’s All-Stars. Detroit’s firm posture is informed in part by restrictive apron rules in the collective bargaining agreement that have influenced recent roster decisions by championship teams in Boston and Oklahoma City.
