It has been two weeks since free agency officially started, but the Detroit Pistons have yet to resolve the Jalen Duren saga. They have made a series of moves this summer to set themselves up to re-sign their All-NBA center, but there has yet to be an announcement. Before dragging things out any further and risking it getting ugly, the Pistons have to put an end to this and sign Duren to a contract extension.
The Jalen Duren-Pistons stalemate has to come to an end
The Pistons have created a ton of cap flexibility this offseason. Now, they can sign Duren while staying under the luxury tax. As things stand now, Detroit is $46 million under the luxury tax. Given that the Pistons will have to move on from a player to open up a roster spot, there is even more room than the $46 million suggests.
It shouldn't even take that full amount for the Pistons to sign Duren. The max contract he is eligible for is a five-year, $287 million deal, which would start at $49.5 million next season. After his playoff struggles, it's impossible to imagine the 22-year-old big man getting that type of offer from the Pistons.
Especially since the most he could get on the open market is a four-year, $177 million deal, and that no team has that type of cap space right now, Duren and the Pistons seem destined for each other. The only way Duren would be heading elsewhere is a sign-and-trade, and Detroit doesn't have any interest in engaging with any team in those talks.
Detroit doesn't have a way to replace Duren. After an offseason without a major addition, the Pistons can't afford to lose Duren. At this stage of the offseason, this means that there is mutual desperation between the Pistons and Duren. This should be enough to get a deal done.
A $40 million per year valuation seems fair for both sides. One has to imagine that if a four or five-year deal around that amount were on the table, this extension would have been done already.
The Pistons may be playing hardball, but that ballpark $40 million annual salary is where this is inevitably headed. Continuing this stalemate risks the good relationship between the two sides and alienating Duren. Getting a deal sooner rather than later would also allow the Pistons to build out the rest of their roster with peace of mind.
Pistons advisor Dwane Casey talked to SiriusXM NBA Radio on Sunday night to reiterate the organization's commitment to bringing Duren back. He said that GM Trajan Langdon and head coach JB Bickerstaff both love him and want him back. If that's the case, the Pistons have to put their money where their mouth is and give Duren what he is looking for.
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