Fans Yell At Jalen Duren For Not Signing A $200M Contract With A Weight Clause
The Detroit Pistons already have the cornerstones of their young core locked in with Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson, but Duren’s still up in the air.
Black News 
After a summer of blockbuster NBA moves that saw LeBron James join the Sixers and Jaylen Brown get traded to Philly as well, all the big moves have been inked.
Well, except one: thanks to Jalen Duren.
The Detroit Pistons already have the cornerstones of their young core locked in with Cade Cunningham, and Ausar Thompson just signed on the dotted line for a $155 million max rookie-scale extension, but Duren’s still up in the air.
It’s not like the Pistons are offering him an offensively low deal; it’s currently sitting at $200 million over five years, up from the original offer presented earlier this offseason.
ESPN’s NBA insider Shams Charania spoke on air Monday to give a peek into the negotiations.
“Over the course of this offseason, his offer from the Pistons has been around the $180 to $190 [million] over five years range — and that has also included incentives like weight clauses, to my understanding. And that has all played a part in this as well,” Charania said Monday. “And over the last several weeks, it’s been kind of quiet on this front. The sides have picked up communication, and I am told right now the Pistons’ offer to Jalen Duren is $200 million over 5 years.”
Now, whether or not he shows up to training camp next week is “up in the air.”
Yahoo reports that he was originally seeking a $287 million, five-year deal, but the Pistons’ front office wasn’t on board to give him the max. So they offered him $190 million, and he wanted them to bump it up to $200 million. They eventually agreed, but added the weight clause, which has caused hesitancy on his side.
The Pistons have a lot of upside for the foreseeable future given their young roster, which means deep playoff runs are expected every year.
And Duren, a one-time All-Star, showed last year that he needs to improve under postseason pressure, because during the opening series against the Orlando Magic and the second round against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he only averaged about 10 points a game.
Social media is up in arms, accusing Duren of overvaluing himself after his no-show playoff stats and, of course, poking fun at the alleged weight clause.
See the reactions below.
