Following an encouraging 44-38 season in 2024-25 and a frisky six-game playoff series defeat to the New York Knicks, the Detroit Pistons kicked off 2025-26 as something of a sleeper in the Eastern Conference. Still young and full of developing talent, Detroit was considered to be at least a few years away from really making significant noise.
Instead, the Pistons may have taken the proverbial “leap” already. At 24-7, Detroit reigns supreme as the No. 1 seed in the East.
All-NBA point guard Cade Cunningham has angled his way into the MVP conversation. But another young former lottery pick has begun rounding into All-Star form himself.
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Detroit center Jalen Duren, the No. 13 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, has become a major two-way force in the Motor City. The 7-footer out of Memphis has been averaging a career-best 18.3 points on 63.4 percent shooting from the field and 72.6 percent free throw shooting, 10.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 blocks and 0.8 steals a night.
Duren has been so good, in fact, that the Pistons might be on the hook for some massive money when the fourth-year big hits restricted free agency next summer.
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reports that Duren’s excellent play puts him in line for potentially a maximum deal.
“The most popular topic in circulation regarding Detroit, then, has focused on how much the Pistons’ strong start and Jalen Duren’s forceful emergence will combine to net him as a restricted free agent this summer,” Fischer writes. “What once seemed a little indulgent as a talking point now seems somewhat plausible: Could Duren command a max contract?”
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Detroit’s improvement has them emerging as not just a sleeper in the East this year, but a sleeper to be one of the best future teams in the NBA.
‘Set Up To Compete for the Next Five Years’
“The Pistons are being overshadowed by OKC and San Antonio, but they’re just as set up to compete for the next five years as anyone,” an assistant general manager informed Fischer.
Fischer suggests that Duren could net something in the range of $40 million a season.
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