As restricted free agent Jalen Duren continues to remain in messy contract extension negotiations with the Detroit Pistons after turning down a five-year, $200 million contract offer, the star big man could instead sign the qualifying offer of his deal and return for roughly $9.6 million next season, in what would be something never seen before in NBA history.
If Duren decides to further bet on himself and hope for an even bigger contract next season, whether it’s with the Pistons or not, and takes the qualifying offer, he would be the first All-Star and All-NBA player in NBA history to do so.
It remains to be seen if Duren and the Pistons will agree on a deal, if they trade him and a new team gives him the money he wants, or if he takes the qualifying offer, but all three options are still on the table.
Jalen Duren Could Make NBA History By Taking Qualifying Offer In Restricted Free Agency As All-NBA Player
Duren finished out the last season of his four-year, $19.2 million rookie contract with the Pistons after the franchise took team options in the past two years. He’s now in restricted free agency, and if he and Detroit can’t agree on a deal, the 22-year-old center has the chance to take a $9.6 million qualifying offer to keep him in town for next season.
As Hunter Patterson of The Athletic wrote, that would be unique NBA history for a player coming off a career year to take exponentially less money than is currently on the table.
“Duren and the Pistons have until Thursday to agree to terms on a one-year, $9.6 million qualifying offer, ink the five-year, $200 million deal offered weeks ago (no options, fully guaranteed with a weight clause) or extend the deadline,” he wrote. “Duren would be the first player in league history to accept the qualifying offer the season after an All-NBA and All-Star selection since the league introduced restricted free agents and qualifying offers in the 1999 collective bargaining agreement.”
Here’s context on Duren’s options ahead, Detroit’s ability to extend the deadline and more:
Though leaving perhaps more than $200 million on the table from the Pistons or even another team if a trade does happen, Patterson explained why it’s not out of the realm of possibility for the young big man.
“If the 22-year-old center accepts the $9.6 million qualifying offer, he’d activate an implicit one-year, no-trade protection, giving him some control over his future,” he added. “For context, based on the NBA’s projected 2027-28 salary cap of $176 million, Duren could earn $189.2 million over four seasons with another team. He’d have a higher average annual value of $47.3 million across those four seasons than the $40 million he’d have across five seasons with the Pistons.”
It might not be the NBA history Duren would like to make, but as the qualifying offer is still on the table for the time being, it can’t be ruled out.
Detroit Pistons Still In Drama With Star Center
Even though Duren was finally offered the five-year, $200 million contract extension with the Pistons that he was hoping to get earlier in the summer, the big man recently turned that deal down.
As Patterson and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported, later followed up by ESPN’s Shams Charania, Duren declined that offer and has since skipped out on Media Day and the start of training camp.
“All-NBA center Jalen Duren is not attending Detroit Pistons media day Monday nor the start of training camp, declining the team’s five-year, $200 million fully guaranteed offer in restricted free agency so far, sources tell ESPN. The sides remain at a stalemate ahead of Thursday deadline on a one-year, $9.6 million qualifying offer,” Charania wrote in a post on X.
“The Pistons believe they’ve made a fair offer to Duren, which is more than he’d make under the qualifying offer that would make him an unrestricted free agent next offseason. But Duren would be leaving at least $190 million in guaranteed money on the table, as it stands, and would need a max deal next summer to break even over the five years compared with what the Pistons are offering,” Eric Woodyard added in subsequent ESPN reporting about the situation.
For the time being, the Pistons and Duren can still agree on an extension, a trade, or the player can pick up the qualifying offer.
All three options are still on the table, but the absent Duren has only until Thursday to take the $9.6 million for next season and make unique NBA history.
If that doesn’t happen, the drama will continue.
Despite Detroit saying they don’t want to trade the star, that might be how the entire situation ends.
Still, if Duren does take the qualifying offer, though it might guarantee he leaves after this season, it would give the Pistons more salary cap space and could set the team up for a late-summer trade to improve the roster even further.
Duren and the Pistons have taken the cake on restricted free agency drama, as the Jonathan Kuminga situation with the Golden State Warriors last year now feels incomparable to this.
Jalen Duren Set For Unique NBA History After Rejecting $200M Pistons Offer