Pistons' Jalen Duren now has $155M reason to not sign with Detroit amid contract saga

Pistons’ Jalen Duren now has $155M reason to not sign with Detroit amid contract saga originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Detroit Pistons and Jalen Duren have been in contract negotiations throughout the entire summer, which is surprising considering the two sides seemed to want to get a deal done. However, it has been nothing but a saga throughout the entire free agency period.

Duren is set to receive his first big contract, and the Pistons are not making it easy. NBA insider Marc Spears believes Duren is really disappointed and feels like the relationship has been ruined.

“Scott Perry has a relationship with Jalen Duren dating to when he was trying to get the Knicks to draft him which they did, but they traded him to the Pistons…Duren likes Scott Perry a lot, he likes Sacramento a lot, but the Pistons, they’re focused on bringing him back, they have some optimism, but it’s complicated. I just hear that Jalen, it’s not about money right now. He feels disrespected…there’s a black cloud going into camp…they gotta try to fix it, and I don’t know if they can in time,” Spears said.

Detroit had a sign-and-trade offer for Domantis Sabonis, but rejected it.

“There was a trade on the table from the Kings for Jalen Duren. They were willing to offer Domontas Sabonis to the Pistons but that’s not what the Pistons want. They want to bring Jalen Duren back and secure him on a long term deal,” ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel said.

On Friday evening, the Duren process could have taken another hit. The Pistons extended Ausar Thompson to a $155 million deal.

“Detroit Pistons All-Defensive forward Ausar Thompson has agreed to a five-year, $155 million rookie-scale contract extension with the franchise, sources told ESPN,” ESPN’s Shams Charania wrote.

The deal could infuriate Duren even more considering the two sides have been working on a deal for months. For Detroit, it is a team-friendly deal, but in Duren’s eyes, it is a deal they got done before his.

This might be the tipping point in the relationship between the two sides. Getting a deal done for Thompson is a move that could leave a sour taste for Duren, and this is another side of the saga that needs to be monitored.

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