The Detroit Pistons' Jalen Duren, a 22-year-old All-Star center, remains unsigned after the team was eliminated from the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers on 2026-05-18, with a recent form of 2W-0D-3L, losing the last two games.
What happened?
Duren held meetings with the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers, but those discussions ultimately did not lead anywhere. So, Duren pivoted to a position where he was pushing the Pistons to engage in talks for a sign-and-trade, but Detroit was not interested in that type of move either. Since Duren is a restricted free agency, the Pistons would have had the right to match any offer sheet he signed on the open market with the cap space to do so, but Detroit was never put in that position.
Why it matters for Detroit Pistons
The NBA's most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement has restricted teams from paying players, which has affected Duren's negotiation with the Pistons. The league is contending that players are utilizing more avenues than usual when it comes to working out their new contracts, and the dragged out timeline in some circumstances is a byproduct of this phenomenon. However, opponents of this thought process would suggest that more players are forced to explore new situations because teams have less money at their disposal to use during free agency as a result of the CBA.
What comes next?
Duren is free to sign his qualifying offer from Detroit in the meantime, but that would likely be a poison pill regarding his time in Motown. The Pistons were initially slotted at No. 21 overall but made a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies to wind up with former Stanford point guard Ebuka Okorie, and the team also made a deal to take former Virginia center Ugonna Onyenso at the end of the second round. With those deals setting the stage for Detroit's summer business, the most important task was always going to be re-signing Duren, but that does not mean it would be an easy, straight-forward task. You can check the team's current [standings](/standings) and [stats](/stats) to see how they are performing without Duren. Duren's situation is similar to other RFAs such as Bennedict Mathurin and Jonathan Kuminga, but he headlines that group as an All-NBA Third Team member last season. DeMar DeRozan recently inked a deal with the Denver Nuggets or else he would've been included in that list as well, but that trio represent the few remaining big names on the market. As the offseason continues, the Pistons will have to navigate the complexities of the CBA to sign Duren and other key players. The team's recent form, including a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on 2026-05-18, has been inconsistent, with a record of 2W-0D-3L, losing the last two games.
