Why the Pistons Should Not Bow Down to Duren in Contract Stalemate

The conversation surrounding Jalen Duren suddenly took a drastic turn.

After advanced contract talks, the Detroit Pistons center reportedly wants to explore a sign-and-trade deal, with the preferred suitors being the Sacramento Kings or Los Angeles Lakers. It’s certainly a head-spinning move, considering just last week, Duren was being touted as a key component of the team.

On the surface, Duren, who has now completed his four-year, $19.5 million deal, seemingly wants a more lucrative contract than the one he is getting, though the finer details of what he is asking for haven’t been reported. However, what is clear is that the negotiations and demands from Duren and Detroit are miles apart.

From a role player to a key figure in the Pistons’ surge to the top of the Eastern Conference, Duren’s long-term improvement has been staggering. However, Detroit is thinking about the present day and the future. What can Duren give them to guide them to an NBA title? The front office is apprehensive about a big deal given his performance in the playoffs, and you can understand why.

Detroit shouldn’t give in to Duren

The Pistons are not thinking about what Duren has done over the last two years; they are thinking about what he can provide next season and beyond. And given his excellent regular-season numbers, which were then followed by a woeful playoff showing, it’s clear why Detroit are sticking to a modest contract figure rather than an eye-popping one.

The regular season showed great promise. In 70 games last season, the big man posted double-double numbers of 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds along with 2 assists, 0.8 blocks and 0.8 steals. He made his first NBA All-Star team and earned third-team All-NBA honors.

He led the Pistons to a 60-22 record, good enough for the No.1 seed in the East, but from there, it all went downhill. Detroit struggled to get past the first round, scraping past the Orlando Magic in seven games before their flaws were exposed by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the semifinals, eliminating them in seven games, with Duren’s performances in question.

Almost playing like a contract extension was a given and his job was done, the young center faded into the night in the postseason. Averaging 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in 14 games, Duren’s production was far lower than what he mustered in the previous 70 games.

And as a result, Detroit’s front office, led by Trajan Langdon, doesn’t seem to want to play ball with Duren. And rightly so. With contract rumors beginning to swirl around the playoffs, Duren’s productivity dropped and he was constantly out-muscled, out-hustled and out-thought at both ends of the floor.

If Duren does choose money over loyalty at 22-years-old, some might say you can’t blame him. But if he does choose to switch the Pistons, where he is earmarked as a main player of the roster, for the Western Conference or anywhere else that might want him … perhaps he did think Detroit were going to bow down to his offer during the postseason.

He thought wrong.

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