Despite reports what Pistons made his biggest offer to a restricted free agent Jalen Duren — a fully guaranteed five-year, $200 million deal — still doesn’t seem like the deal is moving. As a result, Duren is expected to miss the team’s media day on Monday, Sam Amick and Hunter Patterson report for The Athletic (subscriber link).
Because Duren isn’t technically on the Pistons’ roster at this point, he wasn’t scheduled to participate in media duties with the team, but Amick and Patterson’s sources said he was considering showing his face to show camaraderie with the roster. This reversal is further evidence of the tension between the two sides of the negotiations.
The widely reported the weight clause in the last sentence apparently didn’t affect Duren that much. As of Sunday, neither side had expressed a desire to concede.
In addition to concerns about Duren’s weight and playoff struggles, the luxury tax is a concern for a team that has Cade Cunningham already in the beginner’s scale maximum contract in addition to recently expanded Ausar Thompson.
Detroit could extend Duren’s qualifying offer deadline, Amick and Patterson noted, though there was no indication they were considering it. The NBA big man has until Thursday to make a decision. If Duren misses media day, there’s a good chance he’ll also miss the start of training camp, which begins Tuesday.
The Kings and Bucks are reportedly interested in Duren’s services, Amick and Patterson confirm, but the Pistons remain adamant that they are not interested in a sign-and-trade scenario.