Jalen Duren appears to be willing to bet on himself, with the Detroit Pistons unable to meet his contract demands before the end of September.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Duren is becoming more and more open to accepting his one-year, $9.6 million qualifying offer that would allow him to play the 2026-27 season and become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
"The challenge Duren faces hasn't changed much since early July. He seeks a lucrative new five-year deal reflective of his leaps last season to All-Star and All-NBA status — playoff struggles be ******* ed — but there is no team in the marketplace with salary cap ******* e to make a run at Duren that exerts pressure on the Pistons to increase their offers."
"One source briefed on the process says Duren is increasingly prepared to play out the coming season on his $9.6 million qualifying offer — with the intent to become an unrestricted free agent next summer — if no deal with Detroit materializes by the end of September. That would be a risky route to go for a player who achieved what Duren achieved last season, and there will naturally be considerable skepticism that the 22-year-old is truly willing to go the qualifying offer route until it actually happens … but let's see how the rest of the month plays out."
That lack of outside leverage has become the center of this stalemate.
#year #become
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Duren is becoming more and more open to accepting his one-year, $9.6 million qualifying offer that would allow him to play the 2026-27 season and become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
"The challenge Duren faces hasn't changed much since early July. He seeks a lucrative new five-year deal reflective of his leaps last season to All-Star and All-NBA status — playoff struggles be ******* ed — but there is no team in the marketplace with salary cap ******* e to make a run at Duren that exerts pressure on the Pistons to increase their offers."
"One source briefed on the process says Duren is increasingly prepared to play out the coming season on his $9.6 million qualifying offer — with the intent to become an unrestricted free agent next summer — if no deal with Detroit materializes by the end of September. That would be a risky route to go for a player who achieved what Duren achieved last season, and there will naturally be considerable skepticism that the 22-year-old is truly willing to go the qualifying offer route until it actually happens … but let's see how the rest of the month plays out."
That lack of outside leverage has become the center of this stalemate.
#year #become
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