The Oklahoma City Thunder have had quite the busy summer, despite not bringing in many new faces. They’ve unloaded a few contracts in an attempt to get under the second apron, and as of now, they’re under that mark. And according to a Detroit Pistons front office member, the Thunder’s second-apron decisions are, in part, directing the Jalen Duren situation.
Duren and the Pistons have been negotiating a new contract all summer, as the 22-year-old big man is currently a restricted free agent. An exec told Keith Smith of Spotrac that everything that’s gone down with the Thunder (and Boston Celtics and New York Knicks) is definitely impacting the Pistons’ Duren decision-making.
“We very clearly want Jalen back with us for next year and beyond. If we didn’t, we could have easily done several different sign-and-trade deals,”the exec told Smith. “But the numbers have to be right. You saw what’s happened with Boston and OKC and New York. We don’t want to have to shed talent around Cade (Cunningham) and Jalen a year or two from now.”
Pistons using Thunder's summer to guide them through Jalen Duren process
Duren clearly wants something close to a max contract. He was an All-NBA Third Team player last year, but his playoff performance probably hurt his value this summer.
With Cade Cunningham already on a max contract, the Pistons cannot afford to overpay Duren. If they do, they could end up in the same situation as the Thunder, just like the exec said.
OKC has three guys on max contracts, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander making the most of the bunch. Because of that, the Thunder have found themselves pressed up against the second apron.
In order to avoid it this season, the Thunder shipped out Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins in three separate trades. All of them were completely financially motivated. Effective salary dumps.
If the Pistons sign Duren to a max contract – or anywhere close to it – they could have to dump players in the same manner as soon as next summer.
They could begin to lose guys like Duncan Robinson, Daniss Jenkins, Joe, Paul Reed, or even Ausar Thompson, if he wants a big enough contract.
The point is, the Pistons are letting the Thunder’s summer directly impact their decision-making process. Unfortunately for them, while that makes sense from a business perspective, it’s turned the Duren saga into a disaster.
Duren is probably going to walk into next season upset, and he may even take the qualifying offer. The Pistons are using OKC to guide them, but it hasn’t worked out well so far.
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