Pistons reportedly expected to send All-NBA C Jalen Duren to Kings in sign-and-trade after failed negotiations
A big piece from Detroit's rise to the top of the Eastern Conference standings last season is is reportedly on his way out.
Per NBA Insider Chris Haynes, All-NBA Pistons center Jalen Duren is planning to meet with the Sacramento Kings at the start of free agency, which begins Tuesday. According to the report, Duren is expected to work out a deal with the Kings to facilitate a sign-and-trade to Sacramento.
Terms of a contract or the potential return for the Pistons in a trade were not reported.
The expected trade is the result in part of a wide gap in negotiations between Duren and the Pistons, according to the report.
Duren, 22, is scheduled to become a restricted free agent after completing his four-year, $19.5 million contract last season. While playing on the last year of that deal, Duren rose from a role player on a 44-win Pistons team to an All-Star on a Detroit team that finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference at 60-22.
In 70 games last season, Duren averaged 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2 assists, 0.8 blocks and 0.8 steals, making his first NBA All-Star team and earning third-team All-NBA honors in the process. But Duren's production dropped considerably in the postseason as he faded on offense.
Duren faded in postseason after All-NBA breakout
In 14 playoff games, Duren's averages dropped to 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. The top-seeded Pistons, meanwhile, struggled. They needed to rally from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the eighth-seeded Orando Magic in the first round, then lost in seven games to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second.
Duren's rise to All-NBA status put him in line for a lucrative second NBA contract. But the Pistons are apparently wary of meeting his demands following his playoff performance and are content to send him to Sacramento instead. Duren would presumably play center for the Kings, allowing three-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis to slide over to power forward.
Who will play center for the Pistons?
Duren’s absence in Detroit will create a hole in the post for a Pistons team seeking to remain near the top of the East and improve on last year's second-round playoff exit.
The Pistons previously traded backup center Isaiah Stewart to the Memphis Grizzlies for three second-round draft picks in a move to create cap space. Paul Reed (39 starts in 325 NBA games) is the most veteran center on the roster, and the Pistons selected Virginia center Ugonna Onyenso in the second round of last week's NBA Draft.
Options at center will be slim in free agency with top scheduled free agents Kristaps Porziņģis and Isaiah Hartenstein already off the board.
