If this offseason for the Detroit Pistons was a plane ride, you’d call it an eventful one.
There has been turbulence, with the front office missing out on players they thought could fit the team’s present and future. They’ve also moved on from two players who were foundational pieces of their identity in Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart.
Above all, they still haven’t been able to land the plane on a Jalen Duren contract that satisfies both sides.
At this rate, the stalemate could last into the season.
As the vibes continue to feel off in some ways, Detroit is now less than a month away from opening the NBA season against Boston at Little Caesars Arena. And while the Pistons have not gotten everything they wanted this offseason, Trajan Langdon and the front office are still doing their part to preserve a brighter future.
As the staring contest with Duren’s camp continued, Langdon did not waste any more time locking up another foundational piece. Detroit agreed to a five-year, $155 million rookie-scale extension with Ausar Thompson, securing his place alongside Cade Cunningham for the foreseeable future.
I’m sure the preference would have been to have Duren’s situation resolved first. Instead, Detroit moved forward without him.
And honestly, that’s refreshing.
Detroit still has leverage
So, do the Pistons still have leverage in the negotiations?
Yes.
Duren is a restricted free agent, meaning Detroit retains the ability to match an offer sheet from another team. He can also accept a $9.6 million qualifying offer that would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer. That deadline is Oct. 1.
After averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds and earning Third Team All-NBA honors at just 22 years old, Duren became eligible for a five-year maximum extension with Detroit worth a projected $287 million.
But the market has not materialized around that number.
Detroit’s reported offer yesterday is in the neighborhood of $200 million over five years, still well below Duren’s maximum eligibility. And with teams operating under increasingly restrictive cap situations, there has not been an obvious market willing to meet the number Duren is seeking.
The Pistons are essentially betting on their evaluation of Duren rather than reacting to the pressure of losing him.
Langdon won’t budge
That, more than anything, is what gives me optimism about Detroit’s future.
Former front offices might have looked at Duren’s age, production and All-NBA selection and simply given him the money to make sure the situation disappeared before training camp.
Langdon hasn’t done that.
Detroit clearly wants Duren back – but they also appear unwilling to let the desire to keep him dictate the rest of their roster construction.
That’s important when you consider where this franchise is right now. Cunningham is entering his prime if not in it. Thompson is now under contract through the 2031-32 season. The Pistons have already started reshaping the roster around their young stars, and their biggest challenge is figuring out how to maximize the years in which Cunningham is playing at an elite level.
That requires discipline.
Paying Duren whatever he wants simply because he’s already here would remove some of that flexibility.
Business is business
Does the situation sting in the short term for everyone involved?
I’m sure it does.
The Pistons would love to have Duren back in the building, especially with a roster that has undergone significant turnover this offseason. They want him to continue building chemistry with Cunningham, Thompson and the rest of the young core.
And from Duren’s vantage point, it is easy to understand why the situation feels frustrating. He just put together the best season of his career, made his first All-Star team and earned Third Team All-NBA honors at 22 years old. From his perspective, those accomplishments provide a strong case for being paid accordingly.
At the same time, Detroit has to separate what Duren accomplished last season from what it believes he will become over the next five years.
That’s where the real disagreement lies.
The price of the max
Duren is eligible for a five-year deal worth up to a projected $287 million, a number that would require Detroit to make a massive investment in his development. There is certainly a world where that becomes the right decision. He is only 22 and has improved every season. His rebounding and finishing around the rim are already major strengths, and his offensive development has given Detroit reason to believe there is more there.
But paying the full maximum also means making a significant bet on his ability to become one of the league’s premier big men over the life of that contract.
That’s a different question than whether Duren is a good player – he’s already proven that.
The question is whether he will become good enough (particularly in the playoffs) to justify occupying that much of Detroit’s future salary structure.
And that’s exactly the question Langdon should be asking.
A stalemate with a purpose
So we’ll see how this ends.
There is still plenty of time for the two sides to find common ground, and Detroit has many reasons to want Duren back. But the longer the stalemate lasts, the more realistic the qualifying-offer route becomes. Duren would then bet on himself for one season before entering unrestricted free agency next summer.
That would be an uncomfortable outcome for everyone.
But it would also be a sign that Detroit is operating differently than it did during the lean years.
The Pistons aren’t simply trying to keep everyone happy anymore, they’re trying to build a sustainable contender around Cade Cunningham, and that means making difficult decisions about where every dollar goes.
Duren may ultimately be a major part of that future, but if Langdon believes the right number is lower than Duren’s camp does, he’s showing a willingness to wait rather than blink first.
For a franchise that has spent years making short-term decisions, that might be the most encouraging development of the entire offseason.
