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Per league sources, Detroit’s last offer was a five-year deal in the $190 million range. Duren, who is eligible to receive a five-year, $287 million contract, is seeking at least $200 million. As is the case with any player’s contract negotiation, the use of player or team options in the deal significantly impacts the final number.
Jake Fischer: In Pistons center news, sources say Detroit has fully guaranteed Paul Reed’s $5.6 million salary for this upcoming 2026-27 season.
What are you most proud about in terms of getting in? Doc Rivers: Winning a title almost makes you a Hall of Fame coach. Getting to the Finals twice, you’re definitely going to get in. For me, though, it’s the wins when you shouldn’t have won. You don’t get credit for the wins you’ve had when you lose. I go to being in Orlando and up 3-1 in the Detroit series [in 2003]. We were the eighth seed. There’s no way we should be up 3-1. I felt like that is as good as you can coach a team. But then we lose three. That [Pistons] team went on to win a title [in 2004]. We ended up breaking the whole team up because we weren’t good enough.
The Rochester, New York, native said he will always have fond memories of his time in Detroit. “I have just so much love for the city of Detroit,” Stewart said. “They welcomed me with open arms. Coming in at 19, I instantly went to the community just naturally. There are a lot of great people that are doing a lot of great things in Detroit.”
During the playoffs, Stewart’s production dipped to 4.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game over 14 games. After averaging 22.7 minutes per game in the regular season, he logged just 11.8 minutes per contest in the postseason. The Pistons’ championship aspirations ended in the second round with a loss to the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. “Bittersweet. We had a great season,” Stewart said. “Sixty wins. No. 1 in the East. And that’s how I always pictured Detroit being since I got drafted — bringing back that identity, that toughness brand to Detroit. I feel like we did that in the regular season. And the playoffs came and it didn’t go exactly how we planned or talked about.”
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Front Office Sports: The Detroit Pistons' G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, is holding one-day open tryouts Sept. 13. The price of a shot at the G League: A nonrefundable $250.
League sources say Watson, like Detroit's Jalen Duren, has been weighing the unappealing prospect of playing out the 2026-27 season on a qualifying offer with the intent to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. Actually doing so, mind you, means leaving millions on the table.
The Athletic polled 13 members of rival front offices, asking what they would consider a “fair” contract for Duren. Respondents spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the situation freely. The Pistons’ leverage is that no other team has the cap space to offer Duren a rich contract. But Duren’s leverage is that he can accept the qualifying offer, which would entail returning to Detroit on a one-year, $9.6 million contract and becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer, able to sign with whomever he’d like in 2027. “While Detroit might look like they have most of the leverage, given that there are no cap-space teams out there, they’re royally f—– if he takes the qualifying (offer) and walks next year,” one respondent to the poll said. “So, I think leverage is relatively even.”
Jake Fischer: Jalen Duren has been out of the cards for Sacramento from the very beginning. They had interest there, of course, but there’s never gonna be a sign-and-trade that Detroit would have been willing to function, and we’re still getting that intel, we could take this to Jalen Duren as well: Still receiving word out of Detroit that the Pistons have zero interest in playing ball in any sign-and-trade scenario that would deliver their franchise center out of Detroit.
Detroit's negotiating window with restricted free agent big man Jalen Duren opened on June 14 ... one day after the Knicks completed a five-game dismissal of San Antonio in the NBA Finals. Some five weeks later ... Progress has been modest to this point in negotiations between the Pistons and Duren, according to sources briefed on the discussions. Sources say that the Pistons, though, also continue to brush aside any introduction of sign-and-trade scenarios to the talks that would land Duren elsewhere.
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The Pistons are still evaluating the prospect of pursuing DeMar DeRozan in free agency, league sources say. It is not yet certain if Detroit will indeed join Toronto as a confirmed bidder for the six-time former All-Star guard, but The Stein Line did learn this week that the Pistons have been assessing the concept.
The Pistons were grateful for Harris’ contributions during his second stint with the organization, but they understood Harris likely played himself out of their market. According to a league source, Detroit had an internal discussion about Harris, then briefly met before negotiations revealed it’d be best for both parties to part ways.
Hunter Patterson: Can confirm, per a league source, the Pistons are trading Caris LeVert and two second-round picks to the Bucks for Taurean Prince and Gary Harris. Detroit also creates a $15 million trade exception.
Keith Smith: Ugonna Onyenso's two-way contract with the Detroit Pistons is for two seasons, a league source told @spotrac.