Jalen Duren and Pistons Are Still Miles Apart, and the Clock Is Running Out

The math isn't complicated, even if the standoff feels that way. Detroit has reportedly put a five-year offer on the table worth roughly $35 million a year. Duren's camp wants north of $40 million annually — a number that would put him in the same tier as fellow 2022 draftees Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero and Jalen Williams, all three of whom signed five-year, $239 million rookie extensions last summer. Duren has an argument for that money. He earned third-team All-NBA honors last season while anchoring a Pistons squad that won 60 games and finished atop the Eastern Conference. But he also struggled in both of Detroit's playoff series, and league sources say that postseason dip has given the front office cover to hold its ground. One rival executive summed up the mood around the league to ESPN earlier this month: 'There's still a gap, and it's going to drag.' Stay up to date with all Lindy's Sports NBA news, tips, and analysis That prediction has held up. As of this week, Duren remains the only unsigned restricted free agent left from this year's class, and neither side appears ready to blink. Money isn't the only factor. Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon is also negotiating a potential rookie-scale extension with forward Ausar Thompson, and the two contracts are effectively tangled together — whatever Duren signs for will shape how much room Detroit has left for Thompson, and vice versa. There's a tax calculation at play too: the Pistons are sitting on roughly $36.5 million of space below the luxury tax line, and ownership wants to avoid triggering repeater penalties down the road. Not everyone in the Pistons' locker room is staying quiet about it, either. Center Isaiah Stewart made his feelings clear in comments relayed by HoopsHype: 'I feel like he should get paid. He's a huge core piece.' Duren does have a fallback, and it's the one that should worry Pistons fans most. If the two sides can't agree by October 1, he can sign his $9.6 million qualifying offer, play out the season on a one-year deal, and walk into unrestricted free agency next summer with total control over his next contract. Detroit would get one more season of Duren, then risk losing him for nothing in return. Reporting from CBS Sports notes that few outside teams had the cap room to make a real run at Duren in restricted free agency this summer, which is part of why this has turned into a pure two-way negotiation rather than a bidding war. That arguably favors Detroit — no rival offer sheet is coming to force its hand — but it also means there's no outside pressure pushing either side toward a finish line. For now, the belief around the league, according to Hoops Rumors, is still that Duren ends up in Detroit this season. The two sides just can't agree on the price of admission, and with training camp opening September 29, the runway to figure it out is getting short. This article first appeared on Lindy's Sports and was syndicated with permission.