The biggest remaining roster situation on the table this offseason is Jalen Duren’s contract negotiations with the Pistons. Duren had a breakout season last year as the 22-year-old made the All-Star Game and third-team All-NBA, playing a big part in Detroit’s massive rise to being the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 60-win season.
But Duren had a brutal playoff run, and now his team seems to be extremely hesitant to pay the young restricted free agent what he wants. Duren is said to be seeking a deal that pays him at least $200 million over the next five years, while Detroit (at least so far) hasn’t come close to making that kind of offer.
As it stands, the two sides appear to be at an impasse, and it sounds like things have gone from bad to worse, as Duren has distanced himself from the team this offseason and is apparently giving serious consideration to signing the $9.6 million qualifying offer that would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Kings and Duren have mutual interest
That would be a major risk for Duren and a brutal outcome for Detroit, but it could be palatable for the player if he feels the relationship with the team is too far gone and that the payoff in free agency will be worth it. And it sounds like he’s confident that will be the case, as The Athletic has reported that the Sacramento Kings are at the top of Duren’s list and there’s strong mutual interest.
The Pistons haven’t shown interest in a sign-and-trade, but the more this drags out and the threat of losing Duren for nothing becomes real, that could quickly change. There’s also a very real path to the Kings clearing cap space next season to max Duren and pair him with Darius Acuff Jr., creating a nice young point guard-center combo to build around.
Out of all the possible outcomes, Duren going to Sac-Town is about as appealing as it could get for the Boston Celtics.
Losing Duren would be major blow to the 60-win Pistons
For starters, the Pistons are a rising young force in the East, with Cade Cunningham coming off a top-5 MVP finish. They’ve already lost Isaiah Stewart and Tobias Harris from their frontcourt this offseason. Losing their All-NBA center would be a devastating blow and would almost certainly force Detroit to take a step back and figure out another path to contention.
Furthermore, the Kings may be the least directly threatening team to the Celtics in the entire NBA. They are in the midst of a complete rebuild and play in the Western Conference. No disrespect to the Kings, but the chances of them playing the Celtics in a meaningful basketball game any time soon are extremely slim.
Keeping Duren away from the Clippers would be huge
Beyond that, the Celtics are now deeply invested in the success (or lack thereof) of another team out West: the Clippers. Boston owns a very valuable pick swap with LA in 2028, so they want the Clippers to be a true bottom dweller, thus handing the Celtics a premium draft pick. With the Clippers having recently incurred a crippling penalty, they make sense as a team that would splurge in free agency, and Duren could be a prime target. Splurging on Duren wouldn’t make LA contenders or anything, but it could make them a respectable regular-season team and could certainly dim the light on their draft pick in 2028.
Duren joining the Kings would not only keep him away from the Clippers, but it would also potentially mean the Kings are another team that could climb above LA in the Western Conference standings.
This potential move would be a win/win/win for Boston as it would keep that Clippers pick as juicy as can be, weaken an Eastern Conference rival in the Pistons, and keep a young All-NBA center away from any team that could cause the Celtics substantial harm.
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