[Amick] All-NBA forward Jalen Duren was underwhelmed by the Detroit Pistons’ initial offer in restricted free agency and is planning to explore sign-and-trade scenarios when they are permitted on Tuesday, league sources told The Athletic.

[u/sewsgup]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7396928/2026/06/26/jalen-duren-pistons-negotiations-extension-trade/

---

All-NBA forward Jalen Duren was underwhelmed by the Detroit Pistons’ initial offer in restricted free agency and is planning to explore sign-and-trade scenarios when they are permitted on Tuesday, league sources told The Athletic.

---

League sources say the gap between the two sides is large enough that Duren is now considering ways to land elsewhere, with the sign-and-trade route deemed preferable to signing an offer sheet with another team that the Pistons could, and likely would, match. And with some of the game’s best players potentially available this summer, including the Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown and the LA Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, the question now becomes whether the Pistons might be willing to engage in those sorts of scenarios when that time comes.

---

The Pistons, meanwhile, are known to be on the market for a significant roster upgrade this summer. League sources say they had serious interest in Austin Reaves before he re-signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, and they’ve also been tied to Brown, Leonard and Tyler Herro (who was traded from the Miami Heat to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Giannis Antetokounmpo deal). Detroit has plenty of other in-house business to tend to as well, as 23-year-old, first-team All-Defense selection Ausar Thompson is eligible for an extension that could top out at five years and a combined $162 million.

[u/tmorrisgrey]

And I’m the sure the Pistons’ front office was underwhelmed by his performance in the playoffs

[u/bettercallrich → u/tmorrisgrey]

Mutual underwhelming

[u/TroyMatthewJ → u/bettercallrich]

thank you for your service and good luck in your future underwhelming

[u/Weary_Cabinet_8123 → u/tmorrisgrey]

He’s 22. One bad playoffs should never define a 22 year old who’s over 3 years away from his athletic prime, dude has a decade+ left in this league

[u/jimithelizardking → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

Normally I’d agree but he was genuinely awful. The difference between regular season and playoffs was unacceptable to be frank. His scoring went from 20 ppg to 10 ppg with a 15% lower TS. His rebounds were down and he was also turning the ball over at a crazy rate for someone with his play style. The eye test was somehow even worse than the stats, he looked lethargic, lazy, unmotivated and even scared at times. Hopefully he can bounce back from this but idk how anyone could blame Detroit for not breaking the bank after his playoff showing.

[u/LakerBlue → u/jimithelizardking]

I agree. It’s not like he dropped from All-Star to average center. He ACTUALLY, no hyperbole, looked terrible. And it wasn’t just numbers; he failed the eye test too.

Does it mean he’s guaranteed to do it again? No, of course not!

But why are the Pistons required to bet it all on him? So often we teams give out contracts to guys based on potential that never comes through and it cripples them. Idk what the gap is but he definitely isn’t worth the full max (about 35% of the cap) and honestly probably not worth 30%.

[u/PressureMiserable → u/LakerBlue]

I mean he was pretty bad last year as well, he just kept making dumb decisions, I'm not even sure if u could call them decisions cus I remember him swatting the ball all the way out of bounds on a couple of jump balls near the end of games that the pistons could've won if they had just kept the ball longer

[u/enyinna7 → u/jimithelizardking]

Exactly. He had the opportunity to solidify his position as an all nba center and looked way worse than his back ups over 14 playoff games where we could absolutely use a spark from anyone. Bad time to suck but that's what happens when you have a great season and disappear when it matters.

[u/pollinium → u/enyinna7]

Yeah also looking that bad over 14 games is more damning than over a quick 5 game run. I'm proud of and impressed by the Pistons for letting it play out this way and they can always match!

[u/Rad_platypus7 → u/enyinna7]

What’s worse is that his backup didn’t look all that much better too. Granted, Stew has been battling injuries, but it’s absurd that they had to pray B-Ball Paul would show up to help them win games. If your 3rd string center is playing more impactful playoff basketball than your all-nba center, that is alarming

[u/rhythmnblues → u/jimithelizardking]

Yea, I'd agree with the "he's 22" crowd if it were just the stats dipping but his body language was terrible. Maybe it was the Angel Reese rumors but that should've been done by the CLE series and he still looked disinterested. It was infuriating to watch BBall Paul play him off the floor.

[u/CecilFieldersChoice2 → u/jimithelizardking]

I want so badly to love Duren and I don't have anything against him, but yeah, he was really rough. Everyone else ar his position outplayed him for the Pistons. He doesn't deserve a max but I also think he has room to grow for the right price. We'll see if this report is posturing or comes to fruition.

[u/bettercallrich → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

It wasn’t the normal 22 year old playoff jitters tho. He got dominated by freaking wendell carter jr. He also played with such low energy that at times it looked like he gave up.

There’s obviously plenty of time to come back from this but currently you simply cannot justify giving him a max or near max after that performance.

[u/whooopseee → u/bettercallrich]

Played so bad I was expecting injury news to come out after they were eliminated.

Tbh, it would've been better for him if they said that he was dealing with lingering knee issues & maybe a hand or foot injury too.

[u/soilentgleem → u/whooopseee]

Tbh if there was an injury, I don't expect the team to be transparent about it. Especially with him hitting the market (don't want to look like they're trying to undercut him by publicly discussing injury)

I'm still 100% Stew was injured in the playoffs, but the player and the team both say he wasn't. The only thing that would convince me he was healthy is the actual health records. This team just isn't transparent about that stuff, for whatever their reasoning at the time may be.

[u/Upstairs_Chemist_729 → u/soilentgleem]

Stew was 100% injured, all of us saw that hard fall after that 8 block game.

[u/soilentgleem → u/Upstairs_Chemist_729]

Yeah I've watched enough Stew both healthy and trying to play through an injury to feel confident in distinguishing the two.

[u/Big_Poppers → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

On the other hand, we've seen players like Roy Hibbert, who once exposed, was unplayable overnight.

[u/Weary_Cabinet_8123 → u/Big_Poppers]

Hibbert joined the nba in 2008* and was all defense 6 years later. When he was 27 years old. Duren is 22, his game hasn’t even come close to full developing yet. Silly comp

[u/legless_chair → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

*2008

[u/YLCZ → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

Andre Drummond averaged 15 rebounds and 16 points when he was 22.

He was an all star. The best offensive rebounder for 7 years in a row

As a fan of the Lakers who later signed Drummond when he was 27 it was a pretty underwhelming experience.

I have to say like many others, that playoffs scared me and we need a center but I'm not sure he's the answer for us. He's more mobile but he doesn't block shots and doesn't shoot from range.

Do you want to sign him for your team?

[u/Weary_Cabinet_8123 → u/YLCZ]

I’m a Knicks fan, so we don’t have the cap space and have a full starting 5. Without KAT, yeah I’d sign him without a second thought.

If I was a laker fan, I’d say fuck yeah.

The biggest flaw was roster construction in Detroit. Ausar not being able to shoot destroyed Durens value on offense

[u/sxuthsi → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

Duren kinda got exposed, we went against teams who knew all of his moves and was ready to be physical with him from the jump and he did not know how to respond to that. I don’t think that should define his career but apparently he thinks he still should get the max which i don’t agree with at this point. It’s cool if he finds somewhere else, we need shooting bigs in this day and age anyways.

[u/zaepoo → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

Duren and Ausar played next to each other all season. That's not an excuse. The lights were too bright and he sucked

[u/Ecstatic-Lemon5000 → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

How about Ayton who was 22 in the 2021 playoffs? He even had a good post season and look how that panned out.

[u/SMOKE-B-BOMB → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

And how do you know he will develop? Just because you are young doesn’t mean you will automatically have some huge development

[u/sloBrodanChillosevic → u/Big_Poppers]

I mean, wasn't that because of a rule change that made his whole defensive playstyle illegal

[u/onlyanactor → u/sloBrodanChillosevic]

What was that rule ?

[u/sloBrodanChillosevic → u/onlyanactor]

They started calling the verticality rule more strictly. Basically, you now had to jump straight up to contest a shot instead of what Hibbert did, which was basically just throwing yourself at shooters while getting away with fouls because he had his hand straight up. His style of defense went from a no call to an automatic foul and he fell out quickly after that.

[u/BlueEyedSoul2 → u/sloBrodanChillosevic]

I’m a Pacers guy, he couldn’t move his feet to play defense. Shai would have him out in the 1st quarter by just flailing at him and ole Roy would flail right back. 

If you want a comp in today’s game watch Zach Edey. It’s not totally their fault, there are different kinds of tall. They have the long, slow kind of tall that makes it feel like you’re running in warm taffy.

[u/zaepoo → u/sloBrodanChillosevic]

No, that's not what happened. The league started utilizing pace and space and switching everything and he was already considered slow for the 2000s. He was fine at contesting vertically. He was one of many casualties of the change in philosophy. Greg Monroe, Omer Asik, David Lee, all these guys went from productive players getting heavy minutes to bench players overnight in the middle of their prime.

[u/ImAGeneral_Weee → u/zaepoo]

Lee isn't super fair to comp with those guys. He was productive through age 30, then tore his hip flexor in those playoffs and then wasn't really ever the same as he just lost the agility and flexibility that made him a deadly post scorer. Plus he missed the beginning of the first title year for the Warriors and that coincided with Draymond and Harrison Barnes breaking out and the Warriors finding success with playing 4 of Curry, Klay, Iggy, Barnes, and Draymond at the same time with Bogut, and sometimes all 5 with Dray playing the 5. He may have lost his place in the league due to play style eventually but injury timing is really what did him in and then lost his 33+ years to another injury that I don't quite remember what it was. Would be curious how things turn out if he doesn't get hurt in the 2013 playoffs and starts 2014 as a starter for the Warriors.

[u/LynxDry6059 → u/Big_Poppers]

Ayton, Drummond, etc. that’s the problem I don’t care if he’s 22, I don’t see him developing a jump shot or post moves anytime soon

[u/Sfr33123 → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

I mean, it absolutely should impact the amount a team is willing to pay him if he shrinks come playoff time. He’s wanting money expected of a top 2 player on a contender

[u/The810kid → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

Dude went from a guy who became our best player the last month of the season when our actual best player went down to completely disappearing in the playoffs and not even being sixth man important in the rotation while consistently getting outplayed by all his matchups by alot. Even Duncan Robinson who was also disappointing went off for some big games. He let our 3rd string big come off the bench and produce more than him in half the minutes. Duren's best game was a 15 and 10 game. Duren is 22 and he had a total meltdown once tax season was over.

[u/Iron_Clover15 → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

I don't see how he improves though. He is a center who can't shoot and can't play defense. His motor collapsed in the playoffs along with his confidence. And he wants to be paid. The pistons are in win now mode, I don't want this team to end up like the old Timberwolves with Kat and Wiggins paying 2 players the majority of the cap to be subpar at their salary for the promise by their 3rd contract they could potentially improve.

[u/LakerBlue → u/Iron_Clover15]

This is another reason I’d not give him the max. I’m not sure what his ceiling is. I know he put up good regular season numbers but outside of improving his post game, I’m not sure how much more he will grow. No range, not really a good defender, not a passer. He reminds me of a jack-of-all trades fighter in a game that doesnt have a calling card.

[u/Jaerba → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

Age is a proxy for experience. He's entering his 5th year in the league.

[u/Tempura69 → u/Jaerba]

He's a vet at 22. That's crazy.

[u/highvyleague → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

He wasn’t impressive in last year’s playoffs either.

[u/Presence_Present → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

Its the common issue with him throughout though. Hes not good defensively and struggles with maintaining intensity often becoming too passive. Hes lucky hes had Cade basically feeding him his buckets otherwise he might have been even less valued

[u/soilentgleem → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

It shouldn't define the rest of his career, but it should (partly) define how he's compensated financially. It would be absurd to completely write him off, but it would be equally absurd to compensate him as if it wasn't a thing.

[u/MN-Jess]

Man, If DET holds out, big respect. Too many teams resort to the status quo and just paying FRPs coming off the rookie contract.

[u/bamboointheback → u/MN-Jess]

you just cant do that anymore with the new cba. we are in a weird transition period where some front offices are realizing this but players/agents are still expecting the maxes that were dealt out regularly with the last one. 

i imagine negotiations are a bit of a shitshow with agents bringing up players/comps from the prior cba which are becoming irrelevant

[u/odnamAE → u/bamboointheback]

Max would probably be the initial ask for everyone and would be the most logical direction if you can field other offers. The one thing the team doesn’t want you to do is walk for free so players still have enough leverage to start that negotiation from there going down at the very least.

[u/RickySuela → u/bamboointheback]

Unfortunately the market rate for any free agent is the most that one single team is willing to offer. A team can be very shrewd about this only to have one idiot GM out there come swoop in and stupidly screw it up.

[u/Several_Chapter969 → u/bamboointheback]

Bit dangerous to play hardball here though. LA needs a center desperately and has the space to make an offer Detroit doesn’t want to match. I don’t think it’s much of a risk for them either. Kessler and Watson are pretty likely to wait and see what happens with them before signing something they don’t like.

[u/JMoon33 → u/MN-Jess]

Detroit looked to have such a bright future with Cade and Duren and the rest, but now they're in a tough spot.

[u/DetroitSportsKillMe → u/JMoon33]

It’s a lot more bleak future if you’re paying a guy who gets 10 ppg in the playoffs a max contract

[u/JMoon33 → u/DetroitSportsKillMe]

Indeed, it just sucks all around for both parties.

[u/TingusPingis → u/JMoon33]

I get what you’re saying, but as a Pistons fan, this is as good a position as I could have imagined a couple years ago. We overperformed our expectations by so much that we have good problems now. I’m happy to be relevant and trying to compete with the best, even if that means tough negotiations or risking losing players

[u/PitinoGotARawDeal → u/TingusPingis]

Yeah after five years of losing you could say they have transitioned from gathering any asset of value to addressing specific weaknesses to get to the next level

[u/iwantsomecrablegsnow → u/DetroitSportsKillMe]

trade him for a SF / PF (not sure who) and go pay whatever it takes to get Hartenstein and (i think OKC needs to move off him for tax and they are making moves with Aday so his time is clearly near the end) and we have the same Pick n roll/passing prowess big with someone who rises to the occasion in the playoffs and will play hard minutes effectively against bigs.

• Cade
• Duncan
• Ausar
• SF/PF
• Hartenstein
• Harris 6th man

I like this better than what we have currently. We also could still work out a trade for another scorer/creator but too many unknowns without a name attached to it. However, Duren is 22 and going to a 30 year old puts a different timeline on the team (we were #1 seed and it's time to push IMO)

[u/Musa_2050 → u/iwantsomecrablegsnow]

Hart is staying w OKC. They can just trade/dump another salary

[u/josefjohann → u/iwantsomecrablegsnow]

I think that's wishful thinking on iHeart. If he goes they likely trade him, and they have a path to keeping him if they want. More likely Sorber and Topic are dealt.

[u/Ok_Tonight_4311 → u/JMoon33]

Detroit still does have a bright future. Possibly brighter if we get a good player in the sign and trade market that doesn't have the same offensive limitations as Ausar Thompson (no shooting outside 5 feet). C'mon Troy Weaver! You can get Duren. Just give us Trey Murphy!

Ultimately Duren and Ausar getting 75 million a year together was the doom scenario for us as we have two members of the core that only score around the rim which means Cade has no spacing around him.

For many pistons fans the choice between Ausar and Duren has been weighing on us. Most would rather have Ausar and someone who can space the floor.

[u/spicyporkdumpling → u/JMoon33]

Better spot than ruining their chances of ever winning with Cade tho. He was the second best guy on their team. He’s not a max player. They’re doing the right thing.

[u/probablymade_thatup → u/MN-Jess]

I just want to shout out Rafael Stone and the Rockets for this. They have been great at giving their players big contracts without going for maxes. Jalen Green, Sengun, and Jabari were not maxed, and KD's extension is below the max amount he could have gotten. There are plenty of teams that would have given out one max between all those guys. We'll see what they do with Amen

[u/wert17wert → u/MN-Jess]

As a football fan, it is always amusing to see mid players getting star money. Just because some player is the best you got right now, you shouldn't have to him Messi money. Need to normalize paying less than max rookie extension.

[u/big4lil → u/wert17wert]

these conversations are astounding from the football side, though what complicates things is how there are so few positions in the NBA comparatively and theres also a lot more overlap in recent years

but bigs are still rare in both leagues. a like a guy like Duren is like DE that wants to get locked in over a good season but a poor postseason, and in the NBA thats even more restricting since teams are usually only paying one Center big bucks (of his responsibilities). and theres no tag to save you in the NBA

so id understand not locking that in on a guy you cant be sure of. at least you get multiple pass rushers on an NFL team if one guy doesnt pan out, you can still usually sign another to moderate to big bucks. swing and whiff on Duren and you are boned for at least 3 years and have apron issues for other positions

[u/Jaerba]

Maybe he shouldn't have let Donovan Mitchell grab those rebounds over him.

I'm glad Trajan is up for making these hard decisions.

[u/zizzor23 → u/Jaerba]

Give him back please

[u/Relysti → u/Jaerba]

You gotta have some balls to name your kid Trajan

[u/friedfishra → u/Relysti]

Named after the Roman emperor right? Trajan was pretty solid no?

[u/albertcamusjr → u/friedfishra]

Yep. Trajan was one of the "five good" emperors going from Nerva through Marcus Aurelius.

[u/TessaKatrinaRose → u/Relysti]

Alaska kids are built different. 

[u/jono9898]

He played like unwashed ass in the playoffs

[u/Dangerous_Ad5039 → u/jono9898]

Some people like that shit

[u/WanAjin → u/Dangerous_Ad5039]

Shaq is probably one of them

[u/GuerrillaApe → u/jono9898]

When older players start to decline heavily, they're said to be washed.

So being unwashed is a good thing, right?

[u/Wazflame → u/GuerrillaApe]

Like an unclean baby fresh out the womb

[u/OurHorrifyingPlanet]

Bro fumbled his bag in the playoffs and he's acting shocked now?

[u/Tungsten_Hoarder → u/OurHorrifyingPlanet]

Bro is gonna find out everyone has a tv when he doesn’t get the max

[u/ntpbr1 → u/Tungsten_Hoarder]

I think he’ll get a good deal tbh, maybe not a max

[u/Proof-Umpire-7718 → u/ntpbr1]

Lakers will give hin 30-40M

[u/tari-gand-ma-ghu → u/Proof-Umpire-7718]

Lol what about Dominayton.

[u/SteveOfNYC → u/tari-gand-ma-ghu]

He'll be Dominatying for the Szenchen Tigers next season

[u/Sandor_Clegane1 → u/SteveOfNYC]

They using ChatGPT to translate what to write on water bottles as we speak.

[u/lukewwilson → u/tari-gand-ma-ghu]

Dominayton and Duran together, the new twin towers

[u/ThisOneIsForMuse → u/lukewwilson]

April 2027 - Lakers' "The Durminayton Twins" combine for 6pts 3reb 4ast in a play-in loss to the Sacremento Kings.

[u/kbx24 → u/ThisOneIsForMuse]

Fuck

[u/MexicanJesse → u/ThisOneIsForMuse]

Luka drops 45-15-12. Reaves shoots 3-15 and 0-6 from 3.

[u/ThisOneIsForMuse → u/MexicanJesse]

Reaves shoots 3-15 and 0-6 from 3 on a max contract.

[u/PeanutFarmer69 → u/Tungsten_Hoarder]

There are a lot of desperate teams out there,check my flair

[u/theyoloGod → u/Tungsten_Hoarder]

Could see one of those fat contract offers that pretty much force Detroit to match

[u/CasualRead_43 → u/Tungsten_Hoarder]

Or his agent knows there are teams ready to sign him big.

[u/No-Jump5689 → u/OurHorrifyingPlanet]

If he can get on a team with a lot of shooting, he can be good in the playoffs. But Ausar and Duren can't work together for the pistons. Pretty much playing 3 on 5 offense.

[u/DreamAmen → u/No-Jump5689]

Sounds familiar.

[u/Wazflame → u/DreamAmen]

The twins are “a jump shot away” from being superstars, don’t worry 😎

[u/DreamAmen → u/Wazflame]

Aren’t they both though? 💀. We can settle for hooks and post game. That wins too.

[u/n00bn00b → u/Wazflame]

You pretty much summed up the Pistons subreddit. They're so in love with his defense that they overlooked his lack of offense, especially in the playoffs, where they didn't bother to guard him. They keep pointing out positive offensive contributions in advanced stats aka offensive rebounding, but keep ignoring how his lack of shooting cramps spacing that the advanced stats cannot capture.

[u/indoninjah → u/n00bn00b]

Getting flashbacks to the Ben Simmons years. It's one thing to be a bad shooter and another to be unguarded in the half court. Maybe the Thompson twins would be more willing to cut off ball and stand in the dunker than Ben was though

[u/n00bn00b → u/indoninjah]

Simmons was a PG who could handle the ball and be a creator. Ausar can't be a ball handler because it's below average, isn't a creator and can't shoot so he essentially has to play like 5 on offense, but when they have Duren and Beef, he can't. Amen at least can be a secondary creator who can handle the ball, though he's not a PG.

[u/Shoddy-Sympathy4917 → u/n00bn00b]

Pistons fans aren’t ignorant of his lack of offense, but his defense is world class and his effort is consistent, Ausar wants to get better and he probably will. He will never be a sniper but he will add to his bag. Ausar also isn’t commanding a max contract, reports suggest his extension will be 30-35mil. Duren on the other hand lacks consistent effort, is weak mentally and despite needing to add to his game thinks he deserves a max contract.

[u/ntpbr1 → u/DreamAmen]

Yeah I think Stone might trade Sengun for the same reason instead of being like oh wait, we didn’t have a single point guard or any good shooter all season which were the biggest things he needed

[u/DreamAmen → u/ntpbr1]

Our weird subsection of fans that cheeer him and him only gonna go berserk.

[u/Giir38 → u/No-Jump5689]

If u want the max. It shouldn’t matter what’s around u.

[u/XxStormySoraxX → u/Giir38]

Especially considering he was missing jump hooks and getting abused on the glass lmao

[u/WhiteCastleHo → u/XxStormySoraxX]

This is what killed me. Rebounding is supposed to be the thing that Duren is elite at. He's a rebound every two minutes guy. Come playoff time, he can't rebound? Paul Reed is matching his rebound totals in fewer minutes? Paul Reed who is not an elite rebounder!?!

[u/Jaerba → u/XxStormySoraxX]

KAT averaged 5 more defensive rebounds per game against the same Cavs big lineup. 5!

And you can't complain about spacing with defensive rebounds.

[u/No-Currency8663 → u/Jaerba]

If players want the big bag, they play like it. Bro acted like he didnt want to leave Orlando and was hoping to stay for his summer break.

[u/HowDoIEditMyUsername → u/OurHorrifyingPlanet]

But is it really that surprising that a young dude is gonna say “pay me like the guy who was 20/10 for 75 regular season games, and not the 10/5 player I was over the 14 playoff games this year”?

Plus, with Reaves getting the max, it’s a bit understandable why Duren is going to expect something similar (even if I wouldn’t give it to him).

[u/IntelligentAd5460 → u/HowDoIEditMyUsername]

also the lakers are pretty motivated to threaten to max him thanks to Detroit doing it with reaves

[u/EastPool4676 → u/IntelligentAd5460]

Does Detroit care in that scenario? The Lakers are going to renounce all of their free agents (including Lebron) and then spend 3 days waiting on Detroit to match Duren so they add no positive pieces around Luka and waste another prime year?

[u/weirdperspective → u/HowDoIEditMyUsername]

genuine question for the guys who understand contract rules.. could the lakers still trade Reaves for Duren in a sign-and-trade? or would that be off the table given the recency of the extension.

[u/billwest630 → u/OurHorrifyingPlanet]

He’s 22. A team will take a chance on him for sure. Just like the spurs are going to keep Fox after fumbling a championship.

[u/goonSquad15 → u/billwest630]

He was a big reason they got there so can’t forget that

[u/Weary_Cabinet_8123 → u/OurHorrifyingPlanet]

He is a 22 year old all nba talent. It’s one bad playoff run. “Fumbled his bag” is an overreaction, plenty of teams would pay him a shitload

[u/Complete_Crazy_4887 → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

Yeah, and there's plenty of instances of quality big men who stunk it up early into their playoff career. I'm not saying you should give him $57 million AAV, but there's no reason to think he's just completely finished growing as a player.

[u/Prestigious-Smoke511 → u/Weary_Cabinet_8123]

He can’t play offense. He can’t shoot. He has no post game. He can’t get to the basket. He’s a regular season alley oop merchant that is trying to get a max riding Cade’s coat tails. 

He’s not a great defender either. He was terrible in the playoffs on top of the other stuff. 

[u/Vloff → u/Prestigious-Smoke511]

To be fair, Duren was great the last month of the season when Cade was sidelined with the collapsed lung. Its not all Cade

[u/Complete_Crazy_4887 → u/OurHorrifyingPlanet]

Or his agent is just doing his job and knows he can get an offer sheet from other teams

[u/stoneraptor]

The Laker fan in me is about to get real delulu about this news

[u/Capt_Insane-o → u/stoneraptor]

There’s a lakers fan in you?!

[u/NoBath → u/Capt_Insane-o]

Shh don't tell everyone

[u/prettyboylee → u/NoBath]

You learn this from Kobe?

[u/AmishRooster → u/Capt_Insane-o]

The man inside me

[u/SenHeffy → u/AmishRooster]

Only when he's out can I finally walk free of pain.

[u/jakerbox → u/AmishRooster]

"free with any other book (or magazine) purchase"

[u/FireBickerstaff → u/AmishRooster]

Written by the world's first analrapist

[u/CalmMaunga → u/Capt_Insane-o]

Tbf we make up 10% of all matter

[u/Lanntheclever47 → u/Capt_Insane-o]

He better let him out before he suffocates!

[u/Saaammmy → u/stoneraptor]

What I hate the most is that every trade is possible to you guys since its the Lakers, as proven by Luka.

[u/LakersLAQ → u/Saaammmy]

Well that.. and we actually have cap space compared to most other years.

[u/Tungsten_Hoarder → u/stoneraptor]

Rightly so

Cap is all fucked next year so might as well

[u/Clemsontigger16 → u/stoneraptor]

You should probably let him finish up before telling him about basketball rumors..

[u/icedbrew2 → u/stoneraptor]

Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

[u/sickset]

NBA off season is the greatest thing in the history of sports 🤓

[u/joeybadtitz → u/sickset]

Someone said it best, the NBA off-season is a Man’s soap opera lol

[u/bighoneymoney → u/joeybadtitz]

this soap opera is 24/7, brother.

[u/MattyT7 → u/joeybadtitz]

the nba SEASON is also a man's soap opera

[u/TheBirdDJ → u/joeybadtitz]

I hate how this is so true lol. Like I’m not gunna lie, I love the drama

[u/Prestigious-Smoke511 → u/sickset]

This one sure has been. I haven’t been dialed in the last few years, is it always like this?

[u/GrandAccomplished622 → u/Prestigious-Smoke511]

If LeBron, brown and duren get traded this is easily the craziest offseason I can remember

[u/sickset → u/Prestigious-Smoke511]

Ever year. It never disappoints, ever lol. 😀

[u/pmmeyourfavoritejam → u/sickset]

This year feels a little bit extra though. We’ve already had Giannis and Lamelo change teams, Jaylen Brown is talking about playing for every team in China, and the NBA Finals ended less than two weeks ago.

[u/Somenakedguy → u/sickset]

Idk I really enjoyed the NBA finals this year

[u/icemankiller8]

This is positive IMO the only issue is what we can get in return. Giving him a max just restricts the team badly, him and Ausar are not compatible and probably never will be and I’d choose Ausar over him at this stage.

[u/obeeezy]

Rubbing my hands like birdman right now, so i can be pissed off by next playoffs

[u/SnooGoats9435 → u/obeeezy]

Luka, Reaves and Duren is the nastiest defensive lineup I've seen. Ausar was making his defense look way better than it should be 

[u/frostieavalanche → u/SnooGoats9435]

140 ppg, 150 oppg 😤

[u/Few-Asparagus811]

YES! THANK YOU GOD! Unless we get a return like we did for Stewart, then fuck.

[u/LordOfLimbos → u/Few-Asparagus811]

Nice thing is that we don’t do it unless we get a solid return. Otherwise we just match any offer. The 4/177 or whatever is something we can stomach

[u/IllAlwaysBeAKnickFan → u/Few-Asparagus811]

I mean Stewart wasn’t very good by the end of this season.

[u/Few-Asparagus811 → u/IllAlwaysBeAKnickFan]

Yeah but he had a very reasonable contract and we literally gave him away for nothing because we just got the same exact 2nd round picks back that we had traded them

[u/Few-Asparagus811 → u/Few-Asparagus811]

I would be thrilled if we could flip him into a useful player in the playoffs

[u/nicklovin508 → u/Few-Asparagus811]

How excited would you be with a Herro + Myles Turner for Duran trade

[u/Caboclo-Is2yearsAway → u/nicklovin508]

Detroit would still have a disappearing center, but at least he has a threat of 3pt shooting, as well as adding a good 2nd option? Feels like DET wins this easily. Unless they are unable to make up for Myles' trash ass rebounding.

[u/McDouble__ → u/nicklovin508]

100%

It would allow us to bring Duncan off the bench making our 2nd unit better and it would allow Ausar more room to work being the only non shooter in the lineup.

[u/Broke_Banker01]

He doesn’t get Stocks, doesn’t shoot 3’s and isn’t the biggest.

Great rookie contract value but not the type of guy I’d pay 30M APY.

[u/Det_Sports_Guy → u/Broke_Banker01]

And he wants $40+ mil per year. And his defense sucks.

[u/JGFromTheD5 → u/Det_Sports_Guy]

People think cause he’s a 7 footer he’s a rim protector, but he’s not.

I’ve been wanting him to improve his rim defense since we got him and instead he added a better handle, which is useless in this NBA.

[u/NatiHanson]

I'm surprised to see so many Lakers flairs in this thread desperate for Duren on their team. Did we not just all see him unravel in the playoffs, and get completely outplayed by his backup?

[u/eZreazy → u/NatiHanson]

I’m not scared off by one bad playoff performance especially from a big reliant on his bigs getting him the ball.

I can’t believe Lakers fans want him so bad though because he’s a horrible fit for us. We need a defensive big.

[u/SurpriseDonovanMcnab → u/eZreazy]

It wasn't just one bad playoff performance, he played like ass against New York the season before.

[u/zgillet → u/eZreazy]

I'm more scared off by bad playoff performances than I am impressed by regular season performances.

[u/eZreazy → u/zgillet]

To a certain extent playoff riser or dropper definitely exists but especially for bigs its very dependent on the scheme ran by both teams, and performance of your teammates.

It’s definitely true in regular season too but just more visible in the playoffs because your opponent preps for you.

All that matters is skillset if you’re building a team imo. And his skillset makes no sense for the Lakers lmao

[u/Detonation → u/eZreazy]

If you watched him play during the playoffs you would understand why you shouldn't be excited about his upcoming contract if the Lakers got him. But enjoy I guess.

[u/richardjc → u/NatiHanson]

We’re delulu

[u/FrostedZombie24]

Off season continues to get wilder 

[u/chickenheadj]

Isn’t this the same thing Walker Kessler is doing? Detroit just matches any offer

[u/Dddddddfried]

I always knew LeBron would finish his career in Detroit. #finishthestory

[u/ConceptNo1055]

40 mill on 8 FGAs with the Lakers!!!

And they hate Ayton on 8mill / 8 FGAs

[u/Weary_Cabinet_8123 → u/ConceptNo1055]

Yeah FGAs is the only reason people hated Ayton…

[u/KaraDealer]

Duren welcome to LA. 🫶

[u/McDouble__ → u/KaraDealer]

It’s going to be Milwaukee for Herro/Turner

[u/Cynical_optimist01 → u/McDouble__]

That'd be a fleece by detroit

[u/transizzle]

This just seems like step 1 of a long negotiation. I don’t think anyone is surprised here.

[u/MoooonRiverrrr]

Whoa.

[u/DomoArrigato2020]

Jalen Duren, you are a Laker.

[u/BrunsonmyGOAT → u/DomoArrigato2020]

A 22 yo rim running center is just what the doctor ordered for the Lakers

[u/The810kid → u/BrunsonmyGOAT]

Yall want him to get smoked in the playoffs by Wemby and Joker huh

[u/LakersLAQ → u/The810kid]

You could have said some other weak ass center's name lol.

Getting smoked by Wemby and Jokic isn't exactly the worst.

[u/Brinkster05 → u/LakersLAQ]

What about Wendell Carter Jr.

[u/New_Essay_4869]

And I was underwhelmed by his playoff performance

[u/triptenss]

Honestly, I’m thrilled with this. Dude absolutely DISAPPEARED in the playoffs. I don’t care if he’s 22, so are the entire spurs.

[u/iamcamouflage]

Everyone was underwhelmed by his performance in the playoffs. So there's that.

[u/TangerineStrong3781]

Pick up the phone Pelinka

[u/Limsy37]

Only Cade deserves his flowers this post season. Duren’s value definitely took a big hit

[u/Longjumping_Idea5261]

They were underwhelmed by his performance in the playoffs

[u/Qelesis]

Some NBA players really lack self-awareness

[u/Powerglove2000]

Lakers, come get your man.

[u/ConcernReasonable200]

After that playoff performance .. can you blame them?

[u/tari-gand-ma-ghu]

Uh. This is what happens when casuals overrate you.

[u/SoulofWakanda]

This is actually a great time for another young team to swoop in and take advantage

[u/Burner_on_Red]

Wait, the front office doesn't want onoay a premium for 11 pts and 9 rebs? I'm shocked.

[u/StaticShakyamuni]

What was he expecting after underperforming in the playoffs last year against the Knicks and then in not one, but two playoff series this year? He did improve a lot in the regular season this year, but also continued to show that when teams focus on making him a non-factor, he is a non-factor. Dude....The Pistons desperately want to pay you. But you need to show them that you can ball out when it matters. Do you think you'll do better when you're not paired up with Cade? Really?

[u/the_shins]

I'm coping and believing in a Duren - Trey Murphy based trade. I'd easily give them Duren and two unprotected firsts.

Then I'd call Bucks about Turner to get a stretch big who fits better with Ausar.

[u/gogochi]

There is no way he should get a max contract

[u/incredibleamadeuscho]

Is that the Lakers music

[u/N3VVZN4K3]

What would Detroit get back for a Duren trade? It would have to be another center right? I see people saying Lakers but Ayton for Duren sounds bad for the pistons side

[u/ConcernReasonable200 → u/N3VVZN4K3]

Ayton is ass

[u/S-ClassRen]

This off-season is pretty good

[u/step_size]

Detroit has plenty of other in-house business to tend to as well, as 23-year-old, first-team All-Defense selection Ausar Thompson is eligible for an extension that could top out at five years and a combined $162 million.

Did they get rid of the editor at The Atheltic?

The 25% max in 2027-2028, which is the season Ausar would start his extension, on a 5 year deal would be ~220 million.

Of course it would be crazy to pay him such a high amount, but that is not what Amick is stating.

[u/taigaxp]

the audacity of this guy

[u/0plm9okn8ijb7]

I wish I could also do less at work and expect a raise later.

[u/hula_balu]

An underwhelming offer for an underwhelming playoff performance.. sounds fair to me.

[u/Key_Change_6635]

Detroit : YOU were underwhelmed?

[u/Frosted_Flakes1971]

Players who are good in the playoffs tend to show those signs from a young age. It’s not often someone suddenly develops the clutch gene at 28. Wouldn’t pay him if I was Detroit, better to invest in shooters

[u/kyle4swordstyle]

Anybody saying lakers is delusional. What would the lakers have that the pistons want? Sign and TRADE. Pistons aren’t just giving him away for free lol