The biggest remaining name in free agency is Jalen Duren. With less than a month and a half left before the start of the regular season, teams have taken care of their offseason business and finalized their rosters. The Detroit Pistons, however, are still hoping to resolve the Duren saga.
There is still confidence on both sides about coming to an agreement. At the same time, the Sacramento Kings are still hoping to poach the All-Star center away from Detroit.
Sacramento's interest in Duren is well-documented. They were one of the few real suitors for Duren in restricted free agency, and Duren took a meeting with Kings GM Scott Perry early in the summer. But they didn't have the cap space and couldn't create enough space to make Duren a competitive offer sheet. So, they were limited to the sign-and-trade route.
The Pistons, however, have no interest in trading Duren to the Kings. Not wanting to meet Duren's asking price in contract negotiations also led to the current stalemate.
But the Kings aren't giving up. The latest reporting suggests that Sacramento is still hoping to acquire Duren, if not this season, then next offseason.
Sacramento Kings are still hoping to acquire Jalen Duren
ESPN's James Ham reignited these rumors this week. In his appearance on Locked on Kings podcast, Ham said, "If you're Jalen Duren and his representative, I would look at the Sacramento Kings and know they can get up to max cap space next summer."
He then added, "Scott Perry is completely turning the franchise over, and I can tell you he has Jalen Duren's name in highlighter pen looking at next summer's free agency, if Duren is willing to take the qualifying offer."
That is obviously a big "if." Duren's qualifying offer is $9.6 million for the 2026-27 season. Would Duren really take the risk of accepting a one-year, $9.6 million deal over a multi-year deal from Detroit that pays him around $35 million per year?
Even if he can make up the difference from the Kings next summer, there is no guarantee that the max offer will be on the table, especially considering the possibility of an injury or a down season.
This came on the heels of ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel saying that Duren doesn't feel properly valued by the Pistons and is unlikely to remain in Detroit for the duration of his next deal. This makes him a trade candidate even if he eventually signs a new deal with the Pistons. If that is indeed the case, we can expect the Kings to aggressively pursue a trade for Duren.
This could be much ado about nothing. Perhaps Duren's camp is using the Kings as leverage to get the Pistons to meet their demands. Regardless of how interested Duren would actually be in joining Sacramento, the Kings' interest is very real and it will continue to complicate Duren's relationship with the Pistons.
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