The Detroit Pistons are understandably laser-focused on the NBA playoffs.
With two games left in the regular season and having clinched the No. 1 seed in the East, the Pistons have shifted their focus entirely to the first round of the playoffs. For the first time in two decades, Detroit has title ambitions heading into the postseason. As exciting as that is, the Pistons also have to keep the future of the franchise in mind.
Since the Pistons' core is still very young, they have many years of title contention together. The front office has to nail the offseason decisions to build the strongest roster possible around Cade Cunningham. That means savvy decision-making is needed, not only in free agency and the trade market, but also in contract extension negotiations.
Which brings us to Jalen Duren and the fascinating extension negotiations with the first-time All-Star.
The Pistons played hardball with Duren last offseason, and the two sides didn't reach an agreement. Now, Duren will be a restricted free agent this summer and will require a much larger contract than he would have signed last year. In fact, the contract is getting larger by the day as Duren is headed towards making an All-NBA team.
Jalen Duren Headed to Make All-NBA & Increase His Next Contract Value
Duren has taken his game to another level in recent weeks, even with Cade Cunningham sidelined. Over the last month, Duren has averaged 22.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.1 blocks in less than 30 minutes per game while making 69.8% of his shots from the field. He is taking 7.7 free throws per game and makes over 78% of them.
Detroit has won his minutes during this span by an average of eight points per game.
This makes his All-NBA case very strong, especially with the thinning field due to the 65-game rule.
Players like Cade Cunningham, Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker will be ineligible to make an All-NBA team after falling short of playing 65 games. Steph Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jalen Williams, and LeBron James won't be eligible, either, opening the door for Duren, who has been making an elite two-way impact for the best team in the Eastern Conference. He has the inside track to make the third team All-NBA, especially with the voters likely feeling like the Pistons should be represented in the ballots after Cunningham's ineligibility.
In fact, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff advocated for Duren's case on Wednesday, saying, "the impact he's had on winning, which, I think, ultimately is the most important thing. You can have hollow numbers on a bad team, but if you can do what he's done and help a team win, I think you're deserving of it all," per MLive's Jacob Richman.
If Duren makes an All-NBA team, he qualifies to earn a maximum contract 30% of the salary cap rather than the regular max of 25%. This means he will be eligible to sign a five-year, $287 million deal in the summer, which would start his deal at $49.5 million next season. This is significantly more than what any other team can offer him on the market, which is around four years and $177 million.
Since the Pistons can offer more than other teams, they have some leverage and may get away with not giving Duren the full max. But, it will almost certainly have to be somewhere above his 25% max, which starts at $41.3 million next season.
Detroit is clearly thrilled with Duren's improvement, but it will also cost them significantly, making their future planning slightly more complex.