With training camps across the league set to get underway ahead of the Oct. 20 start of the regular season, here are five questions (and one bonus) we're thinking about as various teams hold media days. Duren and the Pistons have been playing a game of contract negotiation chicken for a while now. The question is how far Duren is willing to take this or whether he blinks and accepts the offer on the table.
The 23-year-old center is coming off the best regular season of his career. He's the first Pistons player to average at least 15 points and 10 rebounds on 60 percent shooting, and as a result, he was named to his first All-Star and All-NBA teams. That would have been enough to earn him a handsome payday -- until he cratered in the playoffs.
Duren averaged just 10.1 points in the postseason, a massive drop-off from the 19.5 points he posted during the regular season. The numbers were bad enough. The eye test might have been worse.
Duren got cooked by Wendell Carter Jr. for much of the Pistons' first-round series against the Magic, then he was largely invisible and/or useless against the Cavaliers, who bounced Detroit in the second round. According to multiple reports, the Pistons recently upped their offer to $200 million over five years. Because of the All-NBA selection, Duren is technically eligible for up to $287 million.
He was never getting that much, even before he faceplanted in the playoffs, though it's possible he convinced himself he's worth the max and now he's upset about an offer that's well shy of that number. The Athletic also reported that the Pistons attached a clause to the latest offer requiring Duren to weigh in regularly. All of this seems to have Duren feeling a certain way.
There has been rampant speculation that he might instead opt to sign the $9.6 million qualifying offer that would make him a free agent next summer. Leaving that much guaranteed money on the table would obviously be a huge gamble. If Duren goes that route, the most a new team could sign him for next summer would be four years at around $189 million.
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