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How much money does Jalen Duren deserve as a restricted free agent?
Does he get paid like the elite center he was last regular season, averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, being a defensive anchor in the paint who was critical to his team winning 60 games? That guy sounds like a max player, and one who should at least get something in the five-year, $200 million — $40 million a season — range.
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Or, is Duren the guy who struggled on both ends during the playoffs, averaging 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, with a negative plus/minus? By the end of the postseason, he was losing minutes to third-string center Paul Reed. That center should be happy with five years, $175 million, or $35 million a season average.
That is where the Pistons and Duren are stuck, reports Tim MacMahon at ESPN.
According to league sources, the Pistons are offering a five-year deal that would pay Duren in the range of $35 million annually. Duren, who is represented by agent Chafie Fields of The Team, is requesting a deal with an average salary in excess of $40 million.
“From either camp, you can see their side,” a West executive said. “You can justify it. That’s what makes it hard.”
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An executive from an East rival disagreed: “[Duren] and his agent aren’t being realistic. They’re anchored to the max-type offer. But $35 million is not a discount. It’s a lot of money.”
One key thing worth noting in these talks (as pointed out at ESPN): The Pistons are about $36.5 million below the luxury tax line. That and the fact that Duren is a restricted free agent give Detroit a lot of leverage. Duren could play this season for the $9.6 million qualifying offer, then become an unrestricted free agent next summer, but that is a huge risk (injuries or other factors could impact his value), and it leaves generational money on the table.
There is a logical middle ground between the sides of about $37.5 million a season, or five years, $187.5 million — which is basically what Alperen Sengun got a summer ago from Houston. As Keith Smith noted, this is also almost exactly what happened with Josh Giddey a summer ago.
The…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/pistons-jalen-duren-reportedly-still-154644540.html
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Publish date : 2026-09-01 15:46:00
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