At this point, there is a legitimate chance that All-Star center Jalen Duren won’t play for the Detroit Pistons this season.
On Monday, Duren was not at the team’s media day or the start of training camp, as questions about his future remain.
All-NBA center Jalen Duren is not attending Detroit Pistons media day Monday nor the start of training camp, declining the team’s five-year, $200 million fully guaranteed offer in restricted free agency so far, sources tell ESPN. The sides remain at a stalemate ahead of Thursday… pic.twitter.com/kcraJThcTi
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 28, 2026
The Pistons reportedly offer Duren a deal in the ballpark of $35 to $38 million per year, and Shams Charania reported that Duren declined the five-year, $200 million offer in restricted free agency.
The clock is ticking for a decision. At this point, Duren has until Thursday to sign the one-year, $9.6 million qualifying offer, and that would allow him to hit free agency in 2027.
It was revealed that the Sacramento Kings and Milwaukee Bucks would be willing to give Duren a max contract at that time, but it’s still a large gamble for Duren to take.
At the same time, the Pistons are shutting down all trades for Duren, and they hope the center can return and play this upcoming season.
League sources told @ClutchPoints this morning that the Pistons are still not interested in any Jalen Duren trade avenues and want the 22-year-old center back to begin the 2026-27 season.
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) September 28, 2026
To this point, all the signals from Duren, especially after turning down $200M is that he…
So, the Jalen Duren and Pistons stalemate continues, and who knows what happens next.
