Why Pistons Were Right to Stay Put on Jalen Duren's $200 Million Offer, According to an NBA Scout

Editor’s Note: For the upcoming Sports Illustrated 2026–27 basketball preview magazine that will hit newsstands in October, SI spoke to anonymous scouts around the NBA about all 30 teams.

After taking a rocket ship straight up the past two seasons, the Pistons hit a rough patch over the summer.

It all worked out in the end, however, as All-Star and All-NBA big man Jalen Duren ended his messy restricted free agency negotiations by signing Detroit’s five-year, $200 million offer. He had a choice between long-term security or the chance to go elsewhere if he played out the year on a $9.6 million qualifying offer to enter next offseason as an unrestricted free agent.

The messiness between the Pistons and Duren’s camp stemmed from the distance between the two sides on his market value. Detroit could’ve given him a contract worth as much as $287 million over five years. After a disappointing postseason, though, the Pistons weren’t going to max Duren and call it a day. They couldn’t. Not in this NBA world of salary cap aprons and subsequent limitations.

With Cade Cuningham already on a max extension and Ausar Thompson’s rookie extension recently signed, that was the right move.

“I think Duren played his butt off [last season], but I mean, to me, he's like Domantas Sabonis,” an anonymous NBA scout told Sports Illustrated. “He's going to get overpaid, and he's a role player. He's not as talented. He's not a max player. He's a role player. And if you're going to pay him that, are you ever really going to go get somebody else to be the team you want to be?”

Per Spotrac, Duren’s salary in the upcoming season will make him the NBA’s eighth highest-paid center. He’ll make more than Rudy Gobert and Alperen Şengün and just less than Sabonis and Chet Holmgren. The Pistons structured Duren’s new deal in an interesting fashion. His salary will go down a bit in the second year of the deal, then increase over the rest of the contract. That will dip Duren below Gobert and Şengün next year as the NBA’s 11th highest-paid center in 2027–28 (for now).

The Jalen Duren Saga Is Over: Takeaways As All-NBA Big Man Takes Pistons' Long-Term Offer

It’s a big contract for Duren, but the Pistons made the right decision by offering what they were comfortable with and not budging once their All-Star center seemingly got disgruntled and hoped for more money or a sign-and-trade. Detroit didn’t overcommit itself and will be able to improve the roster to help the team make a push for the title sooner rather than later.

What the Pistons have figured out is their No. 1 guy in Cunningham. He got first team All-NBA honors last year and finished fifth in MVP voting. The question was always who’s going to be the Robin to his Batman. Duren looked a lot like the No. 2 last year, but his disappearance in the playoffs still keeps the question open.

“Cunningham proved he was a top-10 guy last season. He made a huge leap,” the scout said. “The next step for him is playing off the ball. He’s so ball dominant. Once you have a guy that just handles and makes every decision, you can scheme against him in the playoffs.

“They can have a great regular-season record but once you get into the playoffs, a team can scheme against the one action.”

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Detroit has struggled with floor spacing due to Duren and Thompson’s presence, two non-shooters. Duncan Robinson was huge for the Pistons last year and they brought in some reinforcements over the offseason in Isaiah Joe. Even John Collins can help space the floor a bit. However, the their biggest need is a secondary ballhandler who can take some pressure off of Cunningham.

“Joe gives them another shooter. I like Isaiah. But I don't think he's moving the needle. He's adding a piece, but he's not moving the needle for them to really take another step,” the scout said. “The issue's going to come to: Can Cade play off the ball? Can he do it, or can't he? And I don't know if he can. I don't know if he can shoot that well off the ball with somebody else handling. He has to do what Jalen Brunson did. Make shots off the ball. I don't know if Cade can do that. Cade makes his living getting into that mid-range and pulling up, or just being longer than guys and finishing in the paint.

“They need more out of their shooters, but I think another ballhandler that can make plays would be good for them. And then somebody with length to block shots.”

Should those issues become glaring with the tweaked roster, the Pistons have assets to be a major player in the trade market, whether that’s at the deadline or next season.

Offseason recap

Ausar Thompson was signed to a five-year, $155 million extension over the summer | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Who’s in: John Collins, Isaiah Joe, Taurean Prince, Jalen Duren (re-signed), Ausar Thompson (extension), Kevin Huerter (re-signed), Javonte Green (re-signed), Ebuka Okorie (draft)
Who’s out: Tobias Harris, Isaiah Stewart, Caris LeVert, Marcus Sasser

Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart are big losses for Detroit. Harris kept the Pistons afloat in the playoffs as Duren struggled, but he signed with the Spurs over the summer. Stewart was traded to the Grizzlies as more of a financial casualty. He was a huge part of Detroit’s identity for the past six seasons, but he fell out of J.B. Bickerstaff’s playoff rotation as Paul Reed shined as the backup big man.

Collins replaces Harris in the starting lineup and he could thrive next to a player like Cunningham, while Joe is the other key addition for additional shooting. Ebuka Okorie, the rookie guard out of Stanford, could address the secondary ballhandling need eventually, but he’ll need time to develop.

Most importantly, though, the Pistons locked down their core trio over the summer. It was a long, bumpy road with Duren, but they got there eventually. Thompson was taken care of so he doesn’t have to enter next season as a restricted free agent, something the front office is probably thrilled with.

2027 NBA Championship Predictions: Which Team Will Hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy?

SI’s prediction for the 2026-27 Pistons

Record: 48–34 | Predicting the 2026–27 NBA Standings: Which Teams Will Rise, Fall and Surprise?

A 60-win season is incredibly difficult to replicate. Even if the regular-season record isn’t as good as it was last year, the Pistons proved they are for real and a perennial playoff team in the East. The Duren situation was messy and they will have to fight among improved competition. It won’t be easy, but after the franchise added pieces who complement the young core, and specifically Cunningham, Detroit should return to its standing as an upper-tier playoff team. Now, the Pistons just need to take care of business when they get there.

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