What it means that Bucks missed out on Pistons' Jalen Duren

Milwaukee didn't need another center anyway, but adding All-NBA players in their early 20s is usually worthwhile

Apr 08, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Ryan Rollins (13) shoots the ball against Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) and forward Duncan Robinson (55) in the first half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Milwaukee Bucks reported interest in acquiring Jalen Duren will have to wait a while, as Duren reportedly agreed to sign a five-year, $200 million contract to remain in Detroit.

Thursday was a deadline day for the Pistons and Duren, as at 11:59 pm ET his qualifying offer would've expired, ending Duren's threat of signing the small one-year deal to hit unrestricted free agency in 2027. Duren smartly decided to go ahead and lock in $200 million and figure out his future later if the bridge to the Pistons really is burned.

It never felt all that likely that Milwaukee would suddenly add Duren in the middle of the first week of training camp. The conesnsus opinion was that it just made more sense for everybody involved for Duren to return to Detroit given the substantial money offered to him.

Thankfully, Milwaukee does not need to scramble to find another center. While pursuing Duren was worthwhile for the Bucks, Milwaukee does not have a true need at the center position. Myles Turner and Kel'el Ware is honestly closer to too many starting centers than too few, especially given the Bucks' status as a rebuilding team that should be evaluating talented young players like Ware.

The smart approach for the Bucks would be to use the start of this season to rehab Myles Turner's value in Taylor Jenkins' system, which should benefit Turner more than the one Doc Rivers implemented last season. It'd be hard for Jenkins to put Turner in a worse spot.

Ideally, a center-needy team like the Toronto Raptors then comes along and sends draft pick assets for Turner, opening up the center position entirely for Ware as a trial run. Without Duren coming through that door, Ware is clearly the best young big prospect on the Bucks roster.

Although it ended up being much ado about nothing, it was the right move for Milwaukee to sniff around Duren. The Pistons were in a tough spot, and faced the possibility that Duren could walk in a year if he really did sign the qualifying offer. After being the team under pressure to keep a core together (and a star happy) for so many years, it's smart for the Bucks to now look to pry players and picks away from teams in that position.

One situation a Duren sign-and-trade could've helped resolve is the Bucks over-filled roster. Milwaukee is still carrying 17 rostered players, and needs to cut that nunber down to 15 by Opening Night. Sending two players to the Pistons for Duren would've done half of the work, but now general manager Jon Horst has to find another trade or just release a pair of players.

One of those two moves may be spelled out by the Bucks already. Pete Nance is on a non-guaranteed deal at the moment, and is eligible to sign a two-way contract. Milwaukee has left one of its two-way spots open all offseason, carrying Cormac Ryan and Kam Jones on those deals but not signing a third player to one. If Nance is open to it, Milwaukee could waive him from his current deal and re-sign him to a two-way deal for no cap penalty to trim the roster down to 16 players.

From there, the Bucks have multiple players on expiring contracts who could be waived or traded away to finalize the trimming. Given that Taylor Jenkins is emphasizing competition in camp, including for starting spots, it wouldn't be a surprise if Milwaukee waits another few weeks to finalize the Duren-less roster.