A three-team trade framework would send the Detroit Pistons’ Duncan Robinson, who shot 41 percent from beyond the arc last season, to the Los Angeles Lakers as Houston and Detroit sort out restricted free agent Jalen Duren.
The idea, constructed by a user employing tools on the trade machine site FanSpo, only works because Duren remains unsigned deep into the offseason, leaving Detroit searching for maximum value before a deadline forces its hand.
Duren has waited on a new deal since restricted free agency opened, with Detroit reluctant to meet the roughly $287 million maximum tied to a 30 percent cap figure, according to The Athletic. The stalemate had not broken by mid-September.
Duncan Robinson’s Fit With the Los Angeles Lakers
Robinson, born in York, Maine, and raised in New Castle, New Hampshire, took an unconventional route to the NBA, starting at Division III Williams College before transferring to Michigan. The Miami Heat signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2018, and he developed into one of basketball’s premier movement shooters, according to RotoWire’s profile of Robinson.
His shooting has stayed remarkably steady across eight seasons, sitting at 39.9 percent from three for his career, according to RealGM’s stats. Detroit acquired him in a July 2025 sign-and-trade, and he started 77 games last season, averaging 12.2 points on 41.0 percent three-point shooting.
Financially, Robinson carries a cap hit near $16 million for 2026-27, but his 2027-28 salary is non-guaranteed until mid-January, according to Spotrac’s breakdown of his contract. That structure lets the Lakers add shooting without a long-term commitment, according to HoopsHype. Absorbing Robinson pushes Los Angeles into the luxury tax and the first-apron hard cap, a tradeoff for solving a spacing shortage that has dogged the roster around its top scorers.
How the Jalen Duren Trade Reshapes Houston and Detroit
Duren, a Memphis product taken 13th overall by Charlotte in 2022 before landing in Detroit, became a 2026 All-Star and All-NBA Third Team center, averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds last season. His postseason production dipped closer to 10 points and 8.5 rebounds, a swing that has fueled Detroit’s hesitation on a maximum extension.
Houston would send out Alperen Şengün, a two-time All-Star from Giresun, Turkey, who averaged 20.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists last season on a five-year, $185 million extension, according to FanSpo’s contract database listing.
In return, the Rockets would get Duren on a proposed four-year, $160 million deal and add Jarred Vanderbilt, the defensive-minded forward Los Angeles extended for four years and $48 million in 2023.
Detroit’s return includes Şengün, a 2027 first-round pick from Phoenix and two future seconds from Washington, replacing a restricted free agent it could not sign with a proven playmaking big already under contract.
The mechanics work under all three teams’ salary restrictions, though Houston and Detroit would each need a 14th roster spot, and all three clubs land in different apron tiers. For the Lakers, the appeal is narrower and cheaper than the center swap driving the rest of the framework. They get a reasonably priced, short-term shooter who addresses their clearest structural gap without touching their core rotation.
Lakers Trade Pitch Lands 41% 3-Point Shooter, Sends Jarred Vanderbilt to Rockets