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Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren over scale
NBA contract negotiations involving nine figures are usually difficult to make interesting unless somebody gets traded or an owner says something insane. The Detroit Pistons have solved that problem by reportedly offering Jalen Duren $200 million while also asking the 22-year-old All-Star to step on a scale every month.
Detroit’s latest proposal is a fully guaranteed five-year, $200 million deal, but The Athletic’s reporting says the framework also contains an unusual weight clause requiring Duren to check his weight monthly throughout the calendar year. The stipulations had not yet been formally submitted in writing and would reportedly function as incentives rather than allowing Detroit to void or reduce the $200 million base value.
Jalen Duren Is Not Exactly Zion Williamson
That is what makes this so strange.
Duren is officially listed at 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds, and there has never been some famous public saga involving him arriving at training camp wildly out of shape. One league source went as far as describing him as looking like a “Greek statue.”
Detroit apparently is not worried about Duren becoming a guy who spends the offseason discovering new cheeseburgers.
The concern is that he may actually be too bulky.
The Pistons reportedly began discussing getting Duren lighter after their Game 7 loss to Cleveland in last season’s second round, believing additional mobility could help him defensively and improve his effectiveness over a long season.
That apparently surprised Duren’s camp.
You can understand why.
Duren just produced the best regular season of his career, averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 65% from the field. He made his first All-Star team and landed on the All-NBA Third Team.
Then Detroit entered negotiations and essentially said: Great year. Here is $200 million. Also, please report to the scale.
The Playoffs Apparently Changed Detroit’s Thinking
The problem is that Duren’s regular season production did not survive the postseason.
He dropped to 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting 51.4%, and Cleveland’s Evan Mobley-Jarrett Allen frontcourt created some uncomfortable matchups during Detroit’s seven-game loss.
That appears to be where weight became part of the conversation.
The Pistons previously sat in the $180 million-to-$190 million range before raising the offer to $200 million, while Duren has pushed for a deal closer to the maximum he became eligible for after making All-NBA.
He still has not accepted.
Duren can instead take a $9.6 million qualifying offer, play one more season, and become an unrestricted free agent next summer, which would mean risking roughly $190 million in guaranteed money for the chance to choose his next team.
That is already one of the strangest games of contractual chicken in the NBA, and now there is a scale involved.