Apr 19, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) reacts after scoring against the New York Knicks in Game One of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Contract Prediction for Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren

Originally posted on Detroit Pistons on SI
By Justin Grasso | Last updated May 9, 2025 5:40 PM ET

Soon, it will be time for Jalen Duren to land a new contract. The Detroit Pistons’ center recently wrapped up the third season of his rookie deal.

Looking at the 2025 NBA rookie-scale picture, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus predicted what some contracts could look like for players a part of the 2022 NBA Draft class, which Duren was in.

Comparing contracts for players like Jalen Johnson and Jaden McDaniels, Pincus believes Duren could get his total somewhere in the ballpark of those five-year deals. However, the predicted contract for Duren is on a four-year timeline.

“The Pistons could get gun-shy on the length of the deal and offer Duren only four years instead of five. Either way, paying him would be an essential step toward maintaining the chemistry from the team's most successful season in a decade,” Pincus wrote.

$112 million over four seasons could be in play for Duren. At the start of his third NBA season, many viewed the big man as a potential trade deadline candidate, as he struggled to make a major impact. Duren himself even admitted he wasn’t playing his best, most-aggressive ball.

Throughout the second half of the season, though, things changed. Duren was consistently one of the best players on the floor for Detroit. For the second season in a row, he averaged a double-double.

In 78 games, Duren posted averages of 12 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. He averaged a career-high 69 percent from the field while shooting 67 percent from the free-throw line.

While Duren lacks the offensive versatility of today’s centers, taking all of his shots in the paint, he’s still quite productive on that end of the floor and takes care of business defensively. This season, Duren was in the 71st percentile for blocked shot percentage, according to Cleaning the Glass. That’s an area he greatly improved. He also remained one of the most productive rebounders.

The Pistons have a couple of other homegrown youngsters who will be in line for notable extensions soon, but Duren is certainly a center who will get paid with or without Detroit.