The saga between the Detroit Pistons and Jalen Duren has finally ended as the disgruntled center agreed to a new five-year, $200 million contract to return to Detroit, a person with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.
The person spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the terms of the deal and because it was not yet publicly announced.
The agreement came in ahead of Thursday's 11:59 p.m. ET deadline to decide on a $9.6 million qualifying offer.
Duren averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in 70 games in 2025-26 and was named an All-Star for the first time in his four-year career.
After
being named to the All-NBA third team, Duren was eligible to sign a five-year deal, worth up to around $287 million, or 30% of the salary cap.
But Duren's dreadful playoff performance made any team, especially the Pistons, reluctant to pay that much. Duren's per-game production dipped to 10.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks on 51.4% shooting. The top-seeded Pistons were eliminated in the second round in seven games by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Pistons had maintained they were not going to trade Duren, as few teams had the salary cap space available to take on the maximum contract Duren was seeking. He did not get the max, but is now set to make $200 million over the next five seasons.
Jalen Duren contract details
Duren became a restricted free agent this offseason upon completion of his four-year, $19.4 million rookie-scale contract. He could have become an unrestricted free agent next summer if he had accepted the $9.6 million qualifying offer from Detroit.
Agreeing to a five-year, $200 million deal, Duren is slated to be on the Pistons for the forseeable future.
Jalen Duren age
Duren is 22 years old. He was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft after one season of college ball at Memphis. Duren was traded to Detroit in a three-way draft-night deal that also involved the New York Knicks.
Jalen Duren career stats
In four NBA seasons, Duren has averaged 13.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game, while shooting 65% from the field. During the 2025-26 season, Duren averaged a career-high 19.5 points, along with 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and shot 65% from the field.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jalen Duren ends standoff with Pistons, agrees to $200 million contract
