Jalen Duren needed just 15 minutes to make his preseason statement. In the Pistons’ 128-106 win over the Timberwolves on Wednesday, the 22-year-old center scored a game-high 24 points on 8-of-9 shooting, a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, and added three rebounds, two steals and a block. It was his first game since Detroit’s Game 7 second-round loss on May 17, and it came less than two weeks after he agreed to a five-year, $200 million contract that ended a bitter standoff. The Jalen Duren Pistons preseason debut offered an early answer to the question hanging over that deal.
Jalen Duren Pistons Preseason Debut: 24 Points in 15 Minutes
Duren sat out the first two preseason games while getting in game shape, and the Pistons weren’t even sure he’d play Wednesday. He didn’t waste the chance. Minnesota led 38-29 after one quarter, then Detroit won the second 36-20, forcing 10 turnovers that became 16 points, and Duren led the charge with dunks and efficient work inside. All 24 of his points came before halftime, and he sat out the second half. Cade Cunningham, who missed Saturday’s loss in Washington, added 14 points and nine assists in 20 minutes, and Duncan Robinson hit 4-of-5 from three. John Collins scored 11 and Kevin Huerter and Isaiah Joe each added 14 off the bench as Detroit improved to 2-1. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff had teased a faster, more explosive version of Duren after practices, and the preseason debut matched the description.
From Standoff to Statement: The $200 Million Backstory
The path to Wednesday was messy. Duren was a restricted free agent who became eligible for a five-year, $287 million max after earning All-NBA Third Team honors, but the Pistons’ offer started around $195 million. Detroit was also committing money to a five-year, $155 million extension for Ausar Thompson in September. Duren missed media day and the start of camp, and ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill reported the dispute was about power and respect as much as money. Duren finally agreed to the $200 million deal about an hour before the qualifying-offer deadline on Oct. 1, then said he wants to be a Piston for life. Bickerstaff’s take was that Duren “hasn’t reached his ceiling.”
What the Preseason Preseason Debut Doesn’t Settle
Last season Duren averaged career highs of 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in 70 games for a 60-win team and made his first All-Star team. In the playoffs, though, those numbers dropped to 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds, and the front office was reportedly disappointed with how that exposed the team’s reliance on Cunningham. One efficient 15-minute outing doesn’t erase that, and it’s still preseason, with both teams managing minutes for key players. But it does reinforce the traits that made Detroit commit: rim pressure, finishing and the two-man game with Cunningham.
Collins, Duren’s new frontcourt partner, has said it’ll be fun to play next to him. Detroit closes the preseason Friday against Toronto before opening the regular season against Boston, and those extra minutes will provide a clearer sample. For now, the debut gives the Pistons their first on-court evidence that the $200 million investment can deliver.
Jalen Duren Pistons Preseason Debut Answers the $200 Million Question