Jalen Duren and the Detroit Pistons might be headed to a summer separation after initial contract talks stall.
The Detroit Pistons positioned Jalen Duren as their No. 2 option behind Cade Cunningham last season, leading to Duren making the All-NBA Third Team.
He seemed destined for a max rookie contract extension, but his dramatic Playoff drop-off has led to questions over his value and a standoff with the Pistons on the eve of free agency.
Pistons expected to entertain Jalen Duren sign-and-trade offers
The Athletic has revealed that there was a significant gap between the Pistons’ extension offer and Duren’s expectations, enough of a gap for the team to consider sign-and-trade options for the 22-year-old when free agency starts on Tuesday.
“All-NBA forward Jalen Duren was underwhelmed by the Detroit Pistons’ initial offer in restricted free agency and is planning to explore sign-and-trade scenarios when they are permitted on Tuesday, league sources told The Athletic.”
While no numbers were revealed, it seems the Pistons might also be hesitant to let Duren hit restricted free agency and lose him for nothing by not using their matching option on a max contract offer.
Duren averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in the regular season before averaging 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in the Playoffs.
Teams like the Lakers have had a reported interest in Duren. If there are trade talks, the Lakers will definitely be in the mix to finally land the All-NBA center that Luka Doncic wants to play with.
How the Lakers could land Jalen Duren
If the Lakers believe the Pistons won’t match a contract offer to Duren in restricted free agency, they might take that gamble and tie up their cap space for multiple days with a max offer sheet to Duren.
However, this might cause them to lose out on other free agents, as there’s a three-day period for the Pistons to share their decision. If Detroit matches on the third day, the Lakers would be left with nothing.
A trade might be on the table, but it could cost the Lakers Austin Reaves, who they just extended on a four-year, $185 million deal.
Detroit was expected to be among the most aggressive suitors for Reaves if he hit free agency, so they’d definitely be interested in a sign-and-trade where they take Reaves and LA lands Duren. Even that might not be enough if a team like the Boston Celtics offer Jaylen Brown to Detroit for Duren.
It’s hard to imagine how the Lakers can have the assets to land Duren in a sign-and-trade without Reaves, as the Lakers’ roster is barebones with most core players in free agency, and their draft assets are unremarkable.
We’ve seen wilder things happen in the NBA, so the Lakers will likely leave no stone unturned to land the All-Star-level athletic rim-running center that Doncic has always wanted.
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