Jalen Duren skips Pistons media day in contract standoff — SkimNews
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- Jalen Duren missed Pistons media day Monday with a Thursday (Oct. 1) deadline looming to accept his $9.6 million qualifying offer or reach a new deal with Detroit.
- Duren rejected the Pistons' reported five-year, $200 million offer — up from an earlier $190 million — which includes weight clauses, despite being eligible for a Rose Rule max worth $287 million over five years.
- Duren's representatives told ESPN the dispute is no longer about money: the center feels disrespected after teammate Ausar Thompson signed a five-year, $155 million extension with Detroit earlier this offseason.
- Accepting the qualifying offer offers Duren no financial gain — a projected four-year max from another team ($189.2M) plus the $9.6M QO totals roughly $198.8M over five years, short of Detroit's reported deal, while adding injury and performance risk.
- Duren is already on a 60-win Pistons team paired with Cade Cunningham in a productive pick-and-roll, making potential destinations like the Sacramento Kings and Milwaukee Bucks seemingly worse fits.
- The Pistons have resisted sign-and-trade overtures so far, complicated by CBA base-year compensation rules and the fact that potential return pieces like Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner lack positive trade value.
- Detroit could theoretically re-sign Duren and flip him at the trade deadline, but the source notes trust between the two sides is minimal heading into Thursday's deadline.
Why it matters: Duren's qualifying-offer path caps his five-year earnings at roughly $198.8M — below Detroit's reported $200M offer — while adding injury risk on a 60-win team where he's already productive alongside Cade Cunningham. If no deal materializes by Thursday, the Pistons risk losing a 22-year-old All-NBA center for nothing as the franchise-player relationship deteriorates further.
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