EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsThe standoff between Jalen Duren and the Detroit Pistons has stretched into September.There have been plenty of restricted free agency negotiations over the years that remained unresolved before training camps begin. But it's an unprecedented situation for a player as accomplished and decorated as Duren, an All-Star and third-team All-NBA selection for the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed last season."There's still a gap," an executive from another team said, "and it's going to drag."The talks between Duren and the Pistons have been dragging since last summer. The sides didn't come close to agreeing to a contract extension before last fall's deadline, tabling the talks until this offseason and putting Duren in a prove-it position. He responded with a breakout regular season at age 22, averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds while continuing to be a rugged interior presence.Duren was a driving force in Detroit's 60-win campaign, solidifying himself as a significant part of the franchise's plans -- despite a disappointing playoff showing (10.2 points, 8.5 rebounds per game).The price of the contract is the sticking point.According to league sources, the Pistons are offering a five-year deal that would pay Duren in the range of $35 million annually. Duren, who is represented by agent Chafie Fields of The Team, is requesting a deal with an average salary in excess of $40 million."From either camp, you can see their side," a West executive said. "You can justify it. That's what makes it hard."An executive from an East rival disagreed: "[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."Only six centers -- Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, Domantas Sabonis, Rudy Gobert and Alperen Sengun -- will make more than $35 million next season. Chet Holmgren, who starts at power forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder but often slides to center, could be considered an addition to that list.The only other center who will make more than $30 million this season is Walker Kessler, who left Utah as a restricted free agent via a sign-and-trade that landed him with the Los Angeles Lakers on a four-year, $130 million deal. Detroit firmly denied inquiries from other teams about sign-and-trade discussions for Duren.By making an All-NBA team last season, Duren qualified for the Rose Rule, making him eligible to receive a contract starting at 30% of the salary cap (five years, $287 million). Detroit signed face of the franchise Cade Cunningham to that sort of contract two years ago, but it's a nonstarter for the Pistons in these negotiations: They are holding firm on an offer that is significantly shy of the 25% that is the max for players coming off their rookie deals who didn't qualify for the Rose Rule.Only three players from Duren's 2022 draft class got the 25% max (five years, $239 million): Holmgren, Paolo Banchero and Jalen Williams, all of whom will make $41.2 million this season on the first year of extensions signed last summer. Those are also the only three players in the class other than Duren who have been All-Stars.Holmgren, an All-NBA third-team selection last season, could have qualified for the 30% max but agreed to an extension that did not include the "supermax" escalators. Williams had stair-stepper escalators in his extension based on first-, second-, or third-team All-NBA but didn't qualify after injuries caused him to miss most of last season. Banchero's extension included the full supermax language, but he also didn't qualify.The Pistons are taking a relatively tough stance, largely due to the restrictive apron rules in the collective bargaining agreement that have factored into financially motivated decisions to part with core players from recent championship teams in Boston and Oklahoma City.Detroit president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon, who is also negotiating a potential extension with forward Ausar Thompson as he enters the final season of his rookie contract, is attempting to position the Pistons to keep their young core together for the foreseeable future while surrounding the group with a strong supporting cast. The Pistons are also mindful of avoiding the luxury tax this season, pushing likely future repeater penalties further down the road. Detroit has $36.5 million of space under the luxury tax threshold pending the outcome of the Duren negotiations.Duren has a bit of leverage. He could play this season under the $9.6 million qualifying offer, which would make him an unrestricted free agent next offseason. That would mean leaving $170 million or more in guaranteed money on the table in the hopes of landing a four-year max deal from another suitor next summer.Since 1998, only 21 former first-round picks signed the qualifying offer, none of whom took anything close to the kind of financial risk that Duren would. The closest comparison is former Pistons power forward Greg Monroe, who signed the $5.5 million qualifying offer in September 2014 and cashed in with a three-year, $50 million max contract from the Milwaukee Bucks the next summer.But Duren's situation is drastically different than Monroe's. Then-Pistons president/coach Stan Van Gundy had concerns about Monroe's fit alongside center Andre Drummond and didn't offer a lucrative, long-term offer. There is no doubt that the current Detroit management views Duren as a key part of the franchise's future core alongside Cunningham and Thompson."The Pistons have got to manage their books the right way," a prominent agent who is not involved in the negotiations said. "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."If you're Duren's agent, are you really going to turn down $35-38 million [per year]? I wouldn't screw around with it."
