Pistons center Jalen Duren on path to restricted free agency in 2026
pistons-jalen-duren-on-path-to-restricted-free-agency-2026
Detroit and center Jalen Duren did not reach a rookie-scale extension before the season, positioning the 21-year-old for restricted free agency in 2026, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
The third-year big man has opened the 2025-26 campaign with four consecutive starts, giving him an average of 41 starts per season since entering the league as the 13th overall pick in the 2022 draft. That workload activated the NBA’s starter criteria, increasing his projected qualifying offer by roughly $649,000—from $8.97 million to $9.62 million.
Detroit must issue that qualifying offer next summer to retain matching rights, a step widely viewed as procedural given Duren’s production. The 6-foot-10 center has registered double-double averages in each of his first two seasons and is off to another fast start, posting 15.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in just 20 minutes per game through three contests.
Qualifying offers generally serve as placeholders while teams and players negotiate long-term agreements, though recent cases such as Cam Thomas and Quentin Grimes show that accepting the one-year tender can allow a player to reach unrestricted free agency the following summer.
Source: Hoops Wire
