Jalen Duren Could Become a Clippers Target If Pistons Suffer a First-Round Exit

The first round of the NBA Playoffs has been full of surprises. The Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and the Denver Nuggets are all one loss away from losing in the first round as heavy favorites. Any of these teams losing will bring about significant changes to these organizations, which in turn will have an impact on the entire league landscape.

The Los Angeles Clippers, dealing with a ton of uncertainty heading into their offseason, will be keeping a close eye on the situation of these teams. With some cap space, flexibility, assets, and draft capital, the Clippers have a chance to significantly upgrade their roster. A potential target in free agency could emerge if Detroit can't turn things around against Orlando: Jalen Duren.

Jalen Duren May Be a Clippers Target in Restricted Free Agency

For most of the season, Duren wasn't considered truly available on the market because the expectation was that the Pistons would give him whatever it took to retain him. If they become the seventh No. 1 seed ever to lose in the first round, however, their approach to extension negotiations could change.

If Duren makes an All-NBA team this season, he will be eligible for a five-year, $287 million deal with the Pistons. If he doesn't, the maximum he can get from Detroit will be five years and $239.3 million. That is still over $41 million in the first year.

The most another team can offer Duren is a four-year deal worth $177.4 million. The Pistons still have the right to match this offer sheet and keep Duren in Detroit, giving them a major advantage in negotiations.

Paying Duren over $40 million may be harder to stomach after embarrassingly losing to an eighth seed. At the same time, the Pistons will not want to play hardball with Duren.

Detroit didn't give Duren an extension last season and wanted this season to play out. If they lowball him again this summer, this could seriously alienate the 22-year-old center.

This could create an opening for the Clippers and other suitors.

The Clippers currently have $39 million in cap space before taking into account the free agency of Bennedict Mathurin and John Collins. They could create more room by not picking up the $16 million team option of Bogdan Bogdanovic and the $9.1 million team option of Brook Lopez. This would allow them to give Duren his maximum contract, while still having enough space to sign one of Mathurin or Collins.

Duren is the exact type of young star the Clippers need to be targeting. He is still so young that he can be a part of the Clippers' core with Darius Garland for the next ten years, and he is so good right now that he gives Kawhi Leonard a chance to contend next season.

Perhaps none of this will matter if the Pistons come back against the Magic and give Duren whatever he is looking for in the summer. But Clippers fans should pay attention to what happens with Detroit between now and the start of free agency.

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