The Detroit Pistons and Jalen Duren have been throwing jabs at each other throughout the entire summer. Most of the time, it felt like Duren wanted to be done with Detroit as the organization refused to give him the contract he wanted.
On Monday, the Pistons had media day, and the All-Star center did not show up after declining the offer.
Duren had been threatening to take the qualifying offer throughout the summer, saying that if the organization didn’t meet his demands, he would commit to it. Detroit had an offer of $200 million on the table, but Duren wouldn’t agree to it due to a weight clause. On Wednesday, it was removed as a last-second effort from the organization.
“Per league sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity as negotiations continue, the weight clause initially proposed as part of the Pistons’ five-year, $200 million offer is no longer part of the talks. The clause was never put in writing,” The Athletic’s Sam Amick wrote.
With the qualifying offer deadline coming to a close on Thursday night, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Duren had accepted the offer from the Pistons.
“All-NBA and All-Star center Jalen Duren has agreed to sign a five-year, $200 million fully guaranteed contract to return to the Detroit Pistons, agent Chafie Fields of THE•TEAM tells ESPN. This ends a prolonged restricted free agency dispute between the two sides,” Charania posted.
Finally, the months-long dispute is over for Duren and the organization. The two sides finally came together when they needed to the most, but this doesn’t necessarily mean the relationship is fixed.
That will be something to monitor as the season goes on. Duren will join the team in training camp sometime soon, with the first preseason game on Monday. At the very least, Detroit was able to get a deal done with the center they have wanted all summer, never turning on him no matter the circumstances.
