A Detroit Pistons player is getting paid this week … but not Jalen Duren.
Pistons forward Ausar Thompson has secured a sizable new extension from the team, Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Friday. Thompson is reportedly getting a five-year, $155 million rookie-scale extension from Detroit.
The news of Thompson’s big payday led to the restricted free agent center Duren getting cruelly roasted online. Duren is still in a contract stalemate with the Pistons that has now lasted for two-and-a-half months and counting.
Duren wya https://t.co/QbDETArKOy
— Dom2K (@Dom_2k) September 18, 2026
I need a camera on Jalen Duren. https://t.co/brTy6WSNL4
— Savage (@MSavage901) September 18, 2026
Jalen Duren rn pic.twitter.com/Eu5BoRfBCH
— Wavy (@vladdwavy) September 18, 2026
Jalen Duren right now pic.twitter.com/BNyGqw6d0l
— ParlayPlay (@parlay_play) September 18, 2026
Duren, 22, was an All-Star and an All-NBA selection for the Pistons last season. But after a very shoddy playoff performance tanked his value, Duren is now holding out for a number that Detroit is not willing to give. As a result, Duren is reportedly feeling disrespected and may play out the 2026-27 NBA season with the Pistons on the one-year qualifying offer (as he banks on a max contract coming from one opposing team next summer).
As for Thompson, 23, he has yet to make an All-Star team but has already emerged as one of the league’s elite perimeter defenders. Thompson was an All-Defensive First Team selection for the Pistons last season and also led the NBA in steals with 2.0 per game.
If Thompson can develop a reliable offensive game (as he averaged just 9.9 points per game last season on 53/25/27 shooting splits), $31 million per year for him will end up looking like a major steal. Meanwhile, we had indeed been hearing for weeks now that Detroit was leaning towards paying Thompson over Duren as their second-best player behind Cade Cunningham.
