The standoff between Jalen Duren and the Detroit Pistons has dragged on for months, but the All-NBA center has now taken a significant step in the contract dispute. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Duren skipped Detroit's media day Monday and will not report for the start of training camp as the two sides remain at an impasse. The Pistons recently put a five-year, $200 million fully guaranteed extension on the table, but Duren turned it down while holding out for more.
After earning All-NBA Third Team honors last season, he's eligible for a five-year deal worth as much as $287 million, or roughly $57.4 million annually. That would put his potential salary above the current figures for several elite centers, including Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns, Bam Adebayo and Victor Wembanyama. More news: Dylan Harper Reveals True Feelings on Sixth Man Role With Spurs Recent reports indicate that Duren views himself as being in a higher tier than the Thompson twins, Ausar and Amen, who both received extensions over the last few weeks.
Ausar signed a five-year, $155 million extension with the Pistons, while Amen inked a five-year, $208 million deal with the Rockets. Duren is coming off a career year in Detroit, averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while shooting 65% from the floor and establishing himself as one of the NBA's premier young big men. He earned his first All-Star nod and third-team All-NBA honors, and at just 22 years old, he hasn't even reached his ceiling yet.
But he also hasn't developed a reliable perimeter shot, which has become essential in today's NBA. The other players he's looking to out-earn, by comparison, are all among the league's elite stretch bigs. That could be part of Detroit's hesitation to offer him more than the $200 million currently on the table.
More news: Raptors Ink Kawhi Leonard to Monster $115 Million Deal After Clippers Trade More news: Bucks Sent Ominous Warning Amid Gary Trent Jr Investigation Now, though, the two sides are running out of time. Duren has until this upcoming Thursday to sign his one-year, $9.6 million qualifying offer with the Pistons or accept the long-term offer already on the table. Unless Detroit comes to the table with a bigger offer in the coming days, Duren could accept the qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent after the 2026-27 season.
That would bring his time in Detroit to an abrupt end and set up a bidding war for one of the league's most promising young centers.
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