Thursday, Oct. 1, is the deadline.
That is the day Jalen Duren must decide whether to accept the qualifying offer and play for $9.6 million this coming season, which would make him a free agent after the season. Or, he could accept the five-year, $200 million fully guaranteed offer that the Pistons reportedly have on the table. That offer no longer includes a weight clause, reports Sam Amick and Hunter Patterson at The Athletic.
Per league sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity as negotiations continue, the weight clause initially proposed as part of the Pistons’ five-year, $200 million offer is no longer part of the talks. The clause was never put in writing.
As of now, Duren, 22, is the talk of Pistons training camp but is not there.
The weight-clause drama speaks to the bad blood in these negotiations, at least from Duren’s perspective. What was the point of Detroit even suggesting a weight clause? Duren, whatever one thinks of his value as a center, has never been in anything but impeccable shape and takes great care of his body. Usually, these clauses are reserved for players where that has been an issue in the past, but that hasn’t been the case with Duren. What was the point of bringing it to the table in the first place?
Detroit technically could push back the Oct. 1 date to accept the qualifying offer (as far out as March 1, if they want), but with Duren not in training camp now, that would be highly unlikely. At media day Monday, Detroit president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said Duren has “until Thursday” to make his decision.
Duren, coming off an All-NBA season in which he averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game and served as the Pistons’ defensive anchor in the paint, was eligible for up to five years, $287 million. However, after Duren struggled on both ends during the playoffs, averaging 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, with a negative plus/minus, his contract value dropped. At least in the eyes of the Pistons, who also are looking ahead with Ausar Thompson getting an extension and, eventually, Cade Cunningham getting another one.
It took most of the summer for the Pistons to get to a five-year, $200 million offer, or an average of $40 million a season. It probably didn’t help the Pistons’ case that Houston just gave Amen Thompson — an elite young player but not yet an All-Star — five years, $208 million in his recent extension.
Duren’s ultimate leverage is taking the $9.6 million qualifying offer. While technically that would make him a free agent at the end of the season, in practice it would force the Pistons to trade him at the deadline — and the qualifying offer comes with a no-trade clause. Duren could only be traded to a place he wanted to go, which means a team willing to pay him. Sacramento and Milwaukee are known to be interested (Atlanta and Washington are rumored as well), but if Duren actually hits the trade market more teams will step up. However, base-year compensation rules would apply to any sign-and-trade, making that kind of deal incredibly difficult to pull off. Any Duren in-season sign-and-trade (to any team) is going to involve multiple players and very possibly three or more teams.
Teams reportedly asked the Pistons this summer if they would consider a sign-and-trade for Duren, but Detroit quickly shot them down — they want to keep him. He’s still a core part of a 60-win team from a season ago.
One other longshot option, Duren could do nothing on Thursday, signing neither the qualifying offer nor the Pistons offer. However, that means the qualifying offer goes away, and Duren would have to reach a deal with the Pistons, who would have more leverage and little incentive to increase their offer.
If Duren signs the qualifying offer, the most any team can offer him next season is a four-year, $176 million max contract. That would mean over the next five years, he would make a total of about $1.1 million less than the Pistons current offer. It’s basically a financial wash.
If Duren really passes on $200 million, it speaks to just how disrespected he felt by the process and how badly he wants out of Detroit. That said, this contract is his first shot at real generational wealth, and leaving it on the table is a massive risk.
