The Detroit Pistons will soon find out if Jalen Duren is willing to sign a long-term deal or take the risky qualifying offer for the 2026-2027 NBA season.
As Detroit made it clear that they aren’t interested in a sign-and-trade scenario with interested suitors, there are really only two paths left for Duren.
The veteran center wants a max contract, but his playoff performance caused that kind of offer to slip away. The Pistons have a reported offer on the table, but it doesn’t quite meet Duren’s expectations.
According to the NBA insider Sam Amick, the gap is seemingly closing, which signals that a deal could possibly get done soon enough.
Detroit Pistons Get Promising Jalen Duren Update With Camp Approaching
“There is a gap. It’s not as big as I thought it was before having a few recent conversations. It seems like there’s a window here to get something done and put him back in a Pistons jersey,” Amick said on The Athletic NBA Daily.
“I think what’s interesting is like the QO has become such a nuclear option for players and also for teams that it’s fair to wonder like, man, if they can’t completely bridge that gap, how do both sides feel about the QO? Because even from a human standpoint, we haven’t seen a lot of people successfully take that route.”
Taking the qualifying offer shouldn’t be ruled out for Duren, but the play might be too risky. If Duren couldn’t get a max offer after earning All-Star and All-NBA honors, there certainly isn’t a guarantee he could get that kind of deal in the following year. Anything less than those nods, and Duren could lose even more value.
ESPN’s Tim McMahon recently revealed that the current “ballpark” offer for Duren is around $180 million over five seasons. If he takes the one-year route, it would be for just under $10 million.
Only time will tell which direction Duren will take. If the gap the closing in with training camp just weeks out, it seems there is a good chance Duren could have a new multi-year deal soon enough.