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Thursday, Oct. 1, is the deadline.
That is the day Jalen Duren must decide whether to accept the qualifying offer and play for $9.6 million this coming season, which would make him a free agent after the season. Or, he could accept the five-year, $200 million fully guaranteed offer that the Pistons reportedly have on the table. That offer no longer includes a weight clause, reports Sam Amick and Hunter Patterson at The Athletic.
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Per league sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity as negotiations continue, the weight clause initially proposed as part of the Pistons’ five-year, $200 million offer is no longer part of the talks. The clause was never put in writing.
As of now, Duren, 22, is the talk of Pistons training camp but is not there.
The weight-clause drama speaks to the bad blood in these negotiations, at least from Duren’s perspective. What was the point of Detroit even suggesting a weight clause? Duren, whatever one thinks of his value as a center, has never been in anything but impeccable shape and takes great care of his body. Usually, these clauses are reserved for players where that has been an issue in the past, but that hasn’t been the case with Duren. What was the point of bringing it to the table in the first place?
Detroit technically could push back the Oct. 1 date to accept the qualifying offer (as far out as March 1, if they want), but with Duren not in training camp now, that would be highly unlikely. At media day Monday, Detroit president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said Duren has “until Thursday” to make his decision.
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Duren, coming off an All-NBA season in which he averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game and served as the Pistons’ defensive anchor in the paint, was eligible for up to five years, $287 million. However, after Duren struggled on both ends during the playoffs, averaging 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, with a negative plus/minus, his contract value dropped. At least in the eyes of the Pistons, who also are looking ahead with Ausar Thompson getting an extension and, eventually, Cade Cunningham getting another one.
It took most…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/where-things-stand-pistons-jalen-203145391.html
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Publish date : 2026-09-30 20:31:00
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