Much has been said about how the ongoing stalemate between the Detroit Pistons and Jalen Duren will impact the team next season and beyond. The possibility of disrespecting and alienating Duren to a point where the relationship suffers has been discussed. Whether this could lead to Duren asking out has understandably been a popular talking point.
But there is an underrated risk associated with the extended staring contest between the sides. And it involves Duren's on-court performance.
Jalen Duren's performance could suffer the longer the stalemate continues
For young players, the offseason provides an excellent opportunity to work on your game. Whether it's by working out with the team coaches, individual trainers, or playing pickup basketball in open runs, players use the summer to improve their game. The focus can be on getting in better shape, developing a specific skill, or just honing different aspects of your game.
Duren is surely doing this. There have been workout videos of him posted online.
The problem is, can you really expect an unsigned free agent to go all out in training before he lands a new contract? The injury risk is simply too high for a player in Duren's situation to engage in high-intensity workouts.
Athletes of this caliber are very good at knowing how hard to push and when to pull back to avoid injuries. Pushing your body too hard would add unnecessary injury risk, which would be devastating for Duren amid contract negotiations.
Plus, there is the question of how much Duren has been working with the team. We know very little about whether he has been working with Pistons coaches, staff, or his teammates this summer. How much contact there is between the organization and Duren regarding his offseason program is unclear. For a team that will have a few new faces in key rotation roles, building chemistry early on and being on the same page will be very important.
There is still plenty of time. Training camp is a month away. The season doesn't start for another eight weeks. Duren and the Pistons can agree on a new deal soon and get to work right away.
If they don't, however, there is a chance Duren will get off to a slow start. If we look at players like Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga, and Dyson Daniels, whose free agencies went all the way into the fall last year, it's not surprising to see that they all had down seasons.
Duren is, of course, a much better player. He will still have better seasons than those three, but the risk of a slow start is still real. The Pistons have serious ambitions next season and can't afford to have their star center not playing at the level he showed last season. The quicker this stalemate gets resolved, the higher the chances of Duren maintaining his All-NBA caliber play.
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