The longest standoff of the NBA offseason has been resolved at the last minute. Jalen Duren has accepted the five-year, $200 million guaranteed extension offered by the Detroit Pistons, just before the deadline expired at midnight on the East Coast.
With the signing, the center is turning down the alternative he had been weighing for weeks: accepting the qualifying offer of one year and $9.6 million, playing the season at that rate, and arriving at the summer of 2027 as an unrestricted free agent with complete freedom to choose his destination. It was the risky path. He has rejected it.
Two figures that couldn't be more different
The difference between the two options explains why the matter dragged on so long. On one hand, $200 million guaranteed through 2031. On the other, $9.6 million and an entire year exposed to injury or a performance decline, with the hope that the 2027 market would pay more.
According to The Athletic, Duren was seriously considering the second option. What was at stake was, literally, $190 million in guaranteed money.
The progression of offers
Detroit didn't reach that amount all at once. Throughout the summer it moved within a range of between $170 and $190 million, and only two weeks ago formalized the $200 million proposal. Before that, it had removed from the offer a weight-control clause requiring monthly check-ins, a point the player considered disrespectful and which had become the main obstacle in negotiations.
From that point on, the Pistons didn't budge. They stood firm and waited for a decision.
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What broke along the way
The agreement doesn't erase the wear and tear. Duren skipped media day and the start of training camp while deciding, and Shams Charania points to fractures in the relationship between player and club during the restricted free agency process that will condition the Pistons' season opener.
Detroit secures its center for five years, but begins the season with a locker room that has seen its All-Star absent from the first days of work.
Why it was worth 200 and not 287
Last season's performance explains both sides of the matter. In the regular season, Duren posted 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds with 65% shooting from the field, made his first All-Star appearance, and earned All-NBA Third Team honors. Those numbers made him eligible for a maximum extension that could have reached $287 million.
In the playoffs, the story changed: 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds, with his offensive limitations on full display. The Pistons, who had won the Central Division for the first time since 2008 and finished first in the East, defeated Orlando in seven games and fell in the second round to Cleveland, also in seven. That drop-off in April and May is what reduced his negotiating power and left the final figure at $200 and not the maximum.
Duren, who turns 23 this season, arrived in Detroit in 2022: he was selected 13th overall in the draft by Charlotte and traded immediately.