Detroit

Pistons

Contract negotiations between Duren and the Pistons have dragged into September, just weeks before the team is scheduled to begin training camp. According to MacMahon, Detroit has offered the All-NBA center a five-year contract with an average annual salary of $35 million, while Duren is seeking an AAV of over $40 million. While he is coming off the best season of his NBA career, the 6-foot-10 center struggled in both of Detroit’s playoff series, which has likely factored into the contract negotiations. Also, the Pistons already have Cade Cunningham on a max deal, and they’re negotiating with Ausar Thompson as he enters the final year of his rookie deal. Duren is a top-50 fantasy player, but it’s fair to wonder how the contract talks will affect his performance in 2026-27 if the hard feelings linger.

Coming off the most productive season of his NBA career, Duren appeared to be in line for a significant payday this summer. However, a subpar showing in the postseason cast doubt on whether the center was worth the max contract that he hopes to land. With Duren a restricted free agent and few teams having the cap space to meet his asking price, the Pistons held the leverage when free agency began in late June. Rumors suggested the Lakers and Kings were interested in a sign-and-trade, but the former added Walker Kessler and the latter has not moved Domantas Sabonis. So, the staring contest between Duren and the Pistons continues, and it’s fair to wonder if the nature of the negotiations will affect the center’s production in 2026-27. As he showed last season, Duren has top-50 value in fantasy basketball, but he has to agree to a deal first.

The most important note here is the start time. Typically, there are two night games on opening night, but this game will tip off at 3 p.m. ET. Managers will have to set their lineups earlier than usual. There are still two night games, with the defending-champion Knicks hosting the new-look 76ers, which will be followed by a Western Conference Finals rematch, with the Spurs hosting the Thunder. All three games will be broadcasted on NBC and Peacock. Other nationally-televised games for the first week have been revealed as well, and the full schedule will be released this week.

By playing under the qualifying offer next season, both Duren and Watson, who are currently restricted free agents, would leave millions on the table to become unrestricted free agents next offseason. Stein reports Denver’s initial contract offers to Watson were believed to be in the four-year, $70 million range. While that offer is certainly less than Watson wants, at least the sides are talking. Duren and the Pistons appear to be at a stalemate as Detroit has no interest in trading him or giving him the max contract he desires. While it’ll be interesting to see how both of these situations ultimately resolve themselves, it remains unlikely that either player will actually resort to accepting the qualifying offer.

Okorie was hardly efficient in this one as his 16 points came on 17 attempts from the field. The 19-year-old point guard had an impressive drive late in the fourth quarter and he was able to finish at the rim. While the rookie is young and inexperienced, there’s a path to backup point guard minutes with the Pistons trading Marcus Sasser to the Mavericks this offseason.

While Monday’s defeat was the second consecutive game in which Okorie shot poorly, he was unable to compensate for those issues as he did in Sunday’s win over the Cavaliers. The first-round pick out of Stanford finished the loss to the Knicks with as many turnovers as assists, four. By comparison, Okorie compensated for a 5-of-17 Sunday by tallying six assists and seven steals. Even with his struggles against the Knicks, the rookie guard displayed good poise throughout and may be approaching the point where Pistons decision-makers decide they’ve seen enough from him this summer.

One day after shooting 7-of-12 from beyond the arc in a win over the Cavaliers, Lanier hit eight three-pointers on Monday. Now 15-of-24 over the last two games, it’s fair to wonder if the 2025 second-round pick has seen his last game action of the summer. And if that’s the case, Lanier made an excellent case for himself competing for rotation minutes when training camp opens in the fall. Detroit made some moves this offseason to improve its offensive spacing, including the acquisition of Isaiah Joe. However, Lanier showed in summer league that a potential solution to those issues may already have been on the roster.

Detroit added Jones in November after he was waived by the Kings, but he only made a few appearances for the Pistons, with most of his team being spent in the G League. However, he was able to turn in a strong performance in his summer league debut. He’s worth keeping an eye on, though it is unlikely he ends up playing a rotation role for the Pistons this season.

Onyenso made some nice plays, but his overall impact on the box score was limited. There is a lot to like from Onyenso in fantasy hoops, but his summer league debut was disappointing. He’ll get more opportunities this summer to showcase what he can do.

Detroit drafted Lanier last summer, but he only made 34 appearances as a rookie, shooting 31.5 percent from the floor and 28.4 percent from deep. He was more effective in the G League, but his path to rotation minutes in the NBA is spacing the floor. If he isn’t hitting shots, he isn’t going to make much of an impact in other ways. He’ll need to shoot much better this summer than he did in this game.