Pistons fans will have to wait longer before Jalen Duren resolution

The Detroit Pistons are mostly done with their offseason work, but there is still the elephant in the room: What will happen with Jalen Duren?

The two sides are nowhere near agreeing to a new contract. The Pistons have yet to offer Duren anywhere close to the maximum contract he is eligible for, and the All-NBA center isn't budging on his desire to get paid commensurate with the value he provided last season. Detroit is banking on the fact that there are no teams with cap space around the league, giving them all the leverage in the negotiations.

At this point, both sides are comfortable being uncomfortable. They have plenty of time before the start of the season. In fact, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne said on Tuesday that the negotiations between the sides are "at a standstill" right now and could take "deep into August" and "quite a while" until resolution.

Pistons-Jalen Duren stalemate isn't ending anytime soon

Technically, there is nothing wrong with playing hardball for either side. Restricted free agency can take a long time. Last year, Josh Giddey and Jonathan Kuminga had to wait until September to sign new contracts with their teams, but they eventually ended up staying with their teams at the time. A similar situation with Duren is still the most likely scenario.

The problem here is that Duren is much more important to Detroit than Kuminga and Giddey were to their teams. Duren is already an All-NBA player at age 22, and the Pistons' championship hopes hinge on his return. While the Pistons may have the leverage in the negotiations, they also desperately need Duren back since they don't have a way to replace him right away.

The Pistons may not be taking the threat of Duren playing on his qualifying offer seriously. It would be a big risk for Duren after all.

But Duren playing on his qualifying offer isn't the only risk. If the Pistons continue to squeeze him in contract talks, this could lead to frustration and alienation on Duren's part. What's stopping him from signing a new contract and demanding a trade within a year? He could even try to force a sign-and-trade this summer if the relationship between the sides reaches a breaking point.

At this point, it sounds like we may not hear many updates for a while. If the reports about a "standstill" and "modest progress" are correct, it may be at least a few weeks before we get another update about contract negotiations.

Pistons fans have every right to be frustrated about the situation. Not only did the Pistons fail to significantly upgrade the roster this summer, but they are also facing the risk of alienating their second-best player. Let's hope that the relationship between the Pistons and Duren doesn't deteriorate any further.

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