Brooklyn Nets Should Make a Run at All-NBA Star in Free Agency

The Brooklyn Nets' pursuit of flexibility and capital has led to an offseason that could provide sizemic shifts in their roster. It started back in early 2023 when they gutted the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving era and slowly shifted into a rebuild. Fast forward to 2026, and they have a lucrative stash of draft picks and cap space.

The new NBA Draft Lottery rules will force the Nets to get competitive, and they've already been linked to key names as free agency bidders. Of the high-profile players available, Brooklyn should have its sights set on one All-NBA center on the restricted market.

Jalen Duren's 2025-26 season with the Detroit Pistons was almost perfect, but a poor playoff run has raised questions about his potential as a second star to Cade Cunningham.

He was fantastic in the regular season, averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. However, it was easy for Wendell Carter Jr. and Jarrett Allen to shut him down in the postseason. Duren's numbers dropped to 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds across 14 playoff games, and his underwhelming performances led to a 60-win team falling short of the Eastern Conference Finals.

According to Hunter Patterson of The Athletic, the sense around the league is that Duren's next contract will be five years, between $200 million and $220 million. That would result in an AAV between $40 million and $44 million.

However, the 22-year-old is eligible for a maximum rookie-scale extension of $287.1 million with an AAV of about $57.4 million (30% of the salary cap). The real question is whether Detroit is willing to pay him.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps alluded to Duren seeking that max contract elsewhere, as the Pistons could simply match that offer to keep him in Detroit. But there's also the possibility that another team could force their hand and let him walk.

"Though there's a chance, especially after the impasse between the two sides last summer and fall during his extension negotiations, that Duren could seek a suitor to give him a hefty offer sheet that the Pistons would all but certainly match," Bontemps wrote.

"'If he wants to get a max, they'll tell him to go get one,' an East executive told ESPN. 'But he's Cade's guy, so they'll have to play it the right way.'"

The Nets should be the team to make the Pistons uncomfortable. They are projected to be a rich team this offseason, able to spend more money than most teams around the NBA. Duren could be that star to help revive Brooklyn as a competitive franchise.

If the Nets move some pieces around and have enough cap space, they can afford Duren as well as another marquee free agent or a star on the trade market. They can turn the ship around with a few major deals; bidding for Duren should be one of them.

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