The clock is ticking for Jalen Duren and the Detroit Pistons to reach an agreement on a new contract and end the contentious negotiations that have consumed the team’s offseason.
Duren, a restricted free agent, is not planning to attend the Pistons’ media day on Monday, Sept. 28 or the start of training camp on Tuesday, according to multiple reports. Duren has reportedly declined the team’s most recent contract offer and there’s a looming deadline this week for him to sign a one-year qualifying deal.
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The 22-year-old center is coming off the best season of his NBA career, becoming an All-Star for the first time and earning third team all-NBA honors while the Pistons soared to the best record in the Eastern Conference. But Duren’s playoff performance didn’t match his regular-season production, creating an increasingly contentious contract standoff in recent months.
Here’s the latest on the Pistons’ contract situation with restricted free agent Jalen Duren:
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Jalen Duren contract update
Duren is eligible for a five-year, $287-million supermax extension based on his all-NBA selection last season. The Pistons’ most recent reported offer was five years, $200 million and also included a weight clause. Duren turned it down, according to ESPN and The Athletic.
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Since Duren is a restricted free agent, Detroit has the ability to match any contract offer an outside team makes. Those teams can also only offer Duren a four-year deal that’s capped at $177.4 million.
Duren has until Thursday, Oct. 1, to sign a one-year qualifying offer worth $9.6 million that would make him an unrestricted free agent after the 2026-27 NBA season.
Why Pistons, Jalen Duren remain far apart on contract
There are several factors that have put the Pistons and Duren at this impasse, beginning with Duren’s postseason performance.
After averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game during his breakout regular season, Duren couldn’t produce at that level during the Pistons’ abbreviated playoff run. His struggles to replicate that in high-leverage playoff moments raised concerns about whether it was prudent to give him a supermax commitment.
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The dichotomy in his play last season, combined with the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement and the league’s second apron, has put the two sides at odds for months.
The Pistons already have star Cade Cunningham signed to a supermax contract extension and recently gave guard Ausar Thompson a $155 million contract extension. Awarding Duren a supermax would limit the front office’s future salary cap flexibility as it builds a contender around a core of Cunningham, Duren and Thompson.
Duren has not received an offer sheet from another team to this point and the Pistons have not yet been open to sign-and-trade opportunities, according to the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.
As a restricted free agent, Duren’s only leverage is to make this uncomfortable for Detroit and eventually sign a one-year qualifying offer on Oct. 1. That path would allow him to reach unrestricted free agency after the 2026-27 season, but it would also expose both sides to significant risk.
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The Pistons could potentially lose their star center for nothing because Duren could become an unrestricted free agent after the 2026-27 season. Any prospective trade option would either need to sign Duren to a new contract, or take him on as a rental, which could limit his value at the trade deadline.
It’s even riskier for Duren as he could be forfeiting an enormous amount of money if he gets injured or can’t match what he did in the 2025-26 regular season. The Philadelphia-area native could also continue his upward trajectory and earn the max extension he and his representatives sought this offseason.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jalen Duren to skip Pistons training camp as contract deadline looms
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