Negotiations between Jalen Duren and the Pistons are becoming “noxious” as they drag into late summer, a source tells Kurt Helin of NBC Sports. The team is trying to strike a balance by giving Duren enough money to keep him happy without overpaying him, but it sounds like the two sides are still far apart.
Duren believes he’s earned a max contract by posting an All-Star and All-NBA season, but as a restricted free agent, he doesn’t have much leverage to push the Pistons in that direction. He’s eligible for a “Rose rule” deal worth 30% of the salary cap (up to $287MM over five years), but Helin suggests he would be satisfied with a contract similar to Victor Wembanyama‘s at $239MM over five years or 25% of the cap.
Management is reportedly limiting its offers to a little more than $30MM per year, which Helin points out is close to what the Lakers gave Walker Kessler and less than Alperen Sengun is earning in Houston. Duren has the option of accepting the team’s $9.6MM qualifying offer, but that means giving up a lot of guaranteed money.
Helin relays recent comments from Vincent Goodwill of ESPN on The Hoop Collective podcast indicating unrest between Duren and the team (YouTube link). “There’s certain things that a player should not have to hear,” Goodwill said. “You know what I mean? There’s certain things that a player does not have to hear when the messaging comes back about why you’re not getting what you believe to be your value.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- After an impressive performance at the Las Vegas Summer League, Chaz Lanier wants to prove to the Pistons that he can be more than a shooter, per Coty M. Davis of The Detroit News (subscription required). The second-year guard averaged 17.4 PPG in Las Vegas while connecting at 51.1% from three-point range. “This whole summer I’ve been very intentional about getting better in different areas,” Lanier said. “To play for (coach) J.B. (Bickerstaff)the first thing you have to do is be a really good team defender, and I’ve been really intentional about that. I’ve also been intentional about adopting an aggressive mentality and taking my shots, not passing up anything — just honing in on all of the small things of my game.”
- Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times examines whether new coach Tiago Splitter can develop the Bulls‘ young projects the same way he did with Deni Avdija in Portland. Of particular interest are third-year forward Matas Buzelis and star rookie Caleb Wilson. “(Everyone has) got to understand this is a process and not every night is going to be sunny and make all the shots,” Splitter said of Wilson. “It’s going to be up and down. But the trajectory has to be on an upward motion. That’s how we see it and part of the development. (Wilson has) got to also understand that part and that we’ve got a process going (for the) long run.”
- The Pacers have announced a new partnership with DAZN for their local broadcasts, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. They were among the teams whose games were formerly telecast by Main Street Sports Group.