Jalen Duren has turned himself into a very productive NBA center. Through his first four years, all with the Detroit Pistons, Duren has become one of the best rebounders in the entire league. And now, he wants to be rewarded, handsomely, by the only team he’s ever played for.
Duren is currently a restricted free agent. Coming off a four-year, $19.4 million rookie contract, the 2026 third-team, All-NBA center is looking for a sizeable raise. As a restricted free agent, he’s eligible for an approximately one-year, $9.6 million qualifying offer. All signs are pointing to Duren betting on himself, and not accepting that.
While there are no official reports on Duren’s specific contract demands, it’s been surmised that he’s seeking a five-year, $287.1 million super-max deal. The Pistons side of these contract negotiations had also remained relatively quiet — until Monday. As per Kumayl Khahil, the host of ‘Locked On Pistons’, a daily Pistons podcast, the salary range of the Pistons latest offer has been revealed.
Pistons Contract Offer to Jalen Duren Made Public
“And from what I’ve heard and understand, the Pistons have been in the 35-38 million range for Jalen Duren’s contract,” Khahil’s post on his official X account (@KuKhahil) reads.
This is the first salary range to made public during the Pistons-Duren standoff. And it appears the two sides are still a ways away from finding common ground. If Duren were to sign a super-max contract, he’d be earning just north of $57 million per year. This would make him the third-highest paid center in the league, behind only Joel Embiid ($62.6 million) and Anthony Davis ($58.4 million).
If the one-time NBA All-Star agreed to a deal in the reported salary range of $35 to $38 million, he’d be at least top-10 amongst centers in terms of annual value. Alperen Sengun, of the Houston Rockets, makes $37 million per year (No. 8) and Rudy Gobert, of the Minnesota Timberwolves makes $36.5 million (No. 9).
Pistons, Duren Coming Off Successful Season
The Pistons are fresh off one of the best regular seasons in their franchise’s history. They finished with a record of 60-22, winning at least 60 games for the third time in their existence. They’ve won three NBA championships in their history, the last coming in 2004.
Despite a 60-win season, they weren’t able to make it out of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games. Still, they’ve built a solid foundation around a handful of young players, Duren and Cade Cunningham.
Cunningham is just 24 years old and finished No. 5 in NBA MVP voting last season. Duren is just 22 years old and has continued to improve his game on many levels. This team has now made the playoffs in consecutive seasons. And while it doesn’t appear they’ll be without the service of Duren this summer, he’s become a big part of the Pistons rebuild the past few years.
Duren is coming off the best season of his young career. He averaged 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.8 blocks and 0.8 steals while averaging just 28.2 minutes played per game. His rebounds landed him sixth in the league in rebounds per game.
Details Revealed From Jalen Duren’s Latest Contract Offer From Detroit Pistons