Jalen Duren’s season completely changed after the NBA went into the playoffs a month ago. Even though the Detroit Pistons are still breathing, the 6-foot-10 center has heavily struggled with his production. Meanwhile, the 2022 NBA Draft’s 13th overall pick has finished four years of his rookie contract and is up for an extension this offseason. Reportedly, his stock has taken serious damage.
Duren will be a restricted free agent in the upcoming offseason, which means the Pistons will have the right to match any offer he gets from other teams. This is a transparent test for any player to check their value in the trade market and negotiate for a better deal to improve their worth.
How much money did Jalen Duren lose?
The Pistons have lost three consecutive games in their conference semifinals matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, trailing 2-3. Duren, who averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in the regular season, has scored 9.4 points and grabbed 6.6 rebounds per game in the series.
The offensive slump has hurt his value in the trade market amid talks of his contract extension. NBA insider for ClutchPoints, Brett Siegel, shared an update on Duren’s financial value and claimed that he might have lost $50 million in value after his dismal postseason performance. The analyst wrote on X:
“Before the postseason, expectations around the league were that Duren would see upwards of $200M due to his All-NBA-like season.
It’s possible he’s lost over $50M from these playoffs alone.”
Jalen Duren made his debut appearance on the NBA All-Star weekend in the 2025-26 season due to his immense growth. He has also been actively considered for the All-NBA selections, which led to speculations that the center would require around $200 million deals from teams.
Pistons HC J.B. Bickerstaff benches Jalen Duren in Game 5
The Pistons managed to take the game to overtime, even after leading by five points in the final two minutes of Game 5. Evan Mobley scored the last five points and tied the game. Doovan Mitchell had the ball for the last play, but Ausar Thompson’s pesky defense led to a turnover, and the game went into overtime. However, Jalen Duren saw all this from the bench.
After playing 25 minutes in three quarters, J.B. Bickerstaff decided to bench the starting center for the entire fourth quarter and overtime. Instead, the HC let Paul Reed do the work on the board, who scored 10 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks in 17 minutes off the bench. Cade Cunningham was clinical in Game 5, scoring 39 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists.
Veteran Tobias Harris has taken the reins in the absence of Jalen Duren in the postseason. He has averaged 18.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in the series thus far. The Cavs will now meet the Pistons for Game 6 at Rocket Arena, looking to close out the series and make their first Western Conference finals appearance since LeBron James did it in the 2017-18 season.
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