Jalen Duren Turns Down Another Massive Contract Offer From Pistons
Jalen Duren reportedly wants $40M a year from Detroit and has been rejecting offers starting at $35M:
— NBARetweet (@RTNBA) September 1, 2026
“The Pistons are offering a five-year deal that would pay Duren in the range of $35 million annually. Duren, is requesting a deal with an average salary in excess of $40… pic.twitter.com/G09G1WGlck
Tim MacMahon writes that “The Pistons are offering a five-year deal that would pay Duren in the range of $35 million annually. Duren is requesting a deal with an average salary in excess of $40 million.”
Duren is 'not being realistic' according to rival executive
An Eastern Conference rival executive said, "[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."
"There's still a gap," an executive from another team told MacMahon, "and it's going to drag."
The thing is, if Duren, who had a breakout regular season and was named All-NBA Third Team and an All-Star, hadn't pulled a disappearing act in the playoffs, he probably could've landed that $40M AAV. But his scoring dropped from 19.5 ppg to 10.2 in the postseason, his rebounding from 10.5 to 8.5, and his shooting pct. from 65% to 51.4%.
"The Pistons have got to manage their books the right way," a prominent agent told MacMahon. "They feel he should be rewarded. They have their concerns, but he's their guy. To me, the right money is in the mid to high 30s. I think that's the range, and I think this is just a staring contest that will end up in that area."
Duren has another option. He could play this season under the $9.6 million qualifying offer, and become an unrestricted free agent next offseason. But would he take the chance of leaving $170 million or more in guaranteed money on the table?
We'll find out soon enough.