Jalen Duren returning to the Detroit Pistons might not necessarily be a foregone conclusion.
The Pistons center Duren is being linked to the Brooklyn Nets and the Chicago Bulls in free agency this offseason, per a report on Tuesday by John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger notes that both teams will be “circling” with offer sheets for Duren in the event that Detroit gets cold feet.
Duren, who is still just 22 years old, will be a restricted free agent this offseason. That means the Pistons will retain matching rights on any and every outside offer that comes in for Duren.
The former lottery pick Duren had a breakout regular season for Detroit this year, averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Those numbers were good enough to earn Duren both All-Star and All-NBA honors for the first time in his professional career.
But Duren’s stock ended up crashing back to earth thanks to his inconsistent postseason. In the playoffs, Duren averaged just 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as the No. 1 seed Pistons lost in the second round to the No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers. Duren even drew ridicule from some prominent figures after his unflattering showings down the stretch of the postseason.
Earlier this month, we learned that Detroit would not be willing to give the max to Duren but was still planning to extend a very sizable offer in order to retain him. While the smart money is still on the Pistons re-signing Duren due to his age, upside, and chemistry with franchise player Cade Cunningham, both the Nets (a team searching for a more polished starting center than Nic Claxton) and the Bulls (who recently traded away Nikola Vucevic and have few reliable frontcourt options left as a result) could be candidates to mess things up here with a max offer sheet.
