Bill Simmons calls Jalen Duren contract situation 'impossible' for Pistons

Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon seems optimistic about signing center Jalen Duren to a long-term deal, but one prominent NBA analyst isn't as excited about the possibility. In an episode of The Ringer's " The Bill Simmons Podcast " released on Sunday, May 17, Simmons and NBA analyst Zach Lowe dissected Detroit's Game 7 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers and talked about how the Pistons went from getting the 1-seed to losing in the second round. And when the conversation got to center Jalen Duren, Simmons lamented the position the Pistons are currently in regarding a potential nine-figure contract for their All-Star center.

"[The Pistons] have this impossible-to-figure-out Duren contract thing down," he said. "He just got outplayed by [Cavs center] Jarrett Allen, who makes $28-29 million a year, so you can't pay Duren more than that. " Duren is a restricted free agent heading into the 2026-27 season, meaning the Pistons can match any offer from another team and still keep him for the length of the contract.

And for much of this past season, that didn't seem like it was going to be a problem, with Duren putting up 19. 5 points and 10. 5 rebounds per game over 70 games while making his first-ever All-Star team.

But Duren's performance cratered in the postseason, with the fourth-year center scoring just 10. 2 points per game over 14 playoff games, all of which he started. Duren often missed easy shot attempts, struggled to corral the ball on pass and rebound attempts, and generally performed far worse than his regular-season value would indicate.