Pistons want Jalen Duren back, but apparently not at his price

Jalen Duren was a valuable part of the Pistons’ breakout season, and the Pistons want him back.

That’s about all we know. Everything else about Duren’s restricted free agency remains largely a mystery, with training camp just a little more than a month away.

According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, there remains “a gap” in negotiations between Duren and Detroit. He added that he expects the situation to drag on for a bit.

Now, it’s hard to know whether that framing is coming from Duren’s agent, the Pistons, or both. Or if it’s just MacMahon’s intuition. But it would be hard to argue with, given how long this thing has dragged on already.

Duren, 22, was a major part of the Pistons’ turnaround last season, averaging career highs of 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in 70 regular-season games. He made his first All-Star team, earned third-team All-NBA honors and was arguably Detroit’s second-best player behind Cade Cunningham during a 60-win season.

There were times in the playoffs, however, when you wondered whether he was even on the court.

Duren’s numbers dropped to 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in the postseason, and the Pistons occasionally went with reserve Paul Reed instead during important late-game stretches.

MacMahon reports that Duren’s camp is seeking more than $40 million annually. Detroit’s offers reportedly have been closer to the mid-$30 million range.

For comparison, Jarrett Allen averages about $30.2 million annually on his current deal, while Walker Kessler received roughly $32.4 million per year this summer. Duren’s reported asking price would put him in considerably different territory.

One Eastern Conference executive told MacMahon that Duren and his agent “aren’t being realistic.”

“They’re anchored to the max-type offer,” the executive said. “But $35 million is not a discount. It’s a lot of money.”

Nevertheless, Duren is undoubtedly a massive piece alongside Cunningham, and Detroit isn’t looking to move on. The Pistons are also trying to work out a rookie-scale extension with All-Defensive forward Ausar Thompson, though, and eventually all these large contracts have to fit together.

Duren could always accept his $9.6 million qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. That’s an awfully large guaranteed payday to gamble with just to prove a point.

One agent not involved in the negotiations told MacMahon he believes the eventual compromise will land somewhere in the mid-to-high $30 million range.

That sounds reasonable. Then again, reasonable hasn’t gotten Duren or the Pistons across the finish line yet.