Jalen Duren Finally Signs $200 Million Contract After Pistons Remove Weight Clause

With his five-year, $200 million deal signed, Jalen Duren is set to return to the Detroit Pistons next season.

Jalen Duren Finally Signs $200 Million Contract After Pistons Remove Weight Clause

Jalen Duren (Image credits - Bleacher Report)

Jalen Duren was drafted as the 13th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. The Charlotte Hornets drafted him, but his rights were traded to the New York Knicks before moving to the Detroit Pistons.

He had a slow start to his NBA career, but he has shown significant improvements with every passing season. Last season was his breakout season as he was named an All-Star for the first time in his career.

After an incredible regular season where he played a vital role in helping the Pistons top the Eastern Conference standings. The Pistons finished with the third-best record in the league at 60-22.

Unfortunately, things turned out differently in the playoffs. Duren was a shell of himself and struggled on both ends of the floor. After struggling to beat the Orlando Magic in seven games in the first round, the Pistons were eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The season ended disappointingly, and Duren faced heavy criticism for his poor play. His scoring average dropped from 19.5 points in the regular season to 10.2 points in the playoffs.

After the 2025-26 campaign ended, Duren felt underwhelmed when the Pistons offered him a five-year, $200 million contract. The 22-year-old declined the offer and became a restricted free agent. Reports also said the contract included a weight clause.

However, it looks like the two parties eventually sat down and came to terms. NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Duren agreed to the deal without any weight clause.

All-NBA and All-Star center Jalen Duren has agreed to sign a five-year, $200 million fully guaranteed contract to return to the Detroit Pistons, agent Chafie Fields of THE•TEAM tells ESPN. This ends a prolonged restricted free agency dispute between the two sides.

Shams Charania on X

Duren did not attend Media Day and training camp on Monday. The center felt disrespected by the process of the negotiations due to the addition of weight clauses in earlier offers and the handling of Ausar Thompson‘s own contract extension.

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Jalen Duren’s new contract has no weight clause in it

The Detroit Pistons have been building their team around Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, and Thompson. Cunningham signed a five-year, $224 million deal two years ago and has rewarded the Pistons by being one of the best players in the league in the last two years, and was even an MVP candidate last season

Similarly, Thompson agreed to a five-year, $155 million extension after being one of their best defensive players last campaign. So it is understandable that Duren felt disrespected when they offered him a $200 million contract, even though he was eligible for a five-year, $287 million maximum extension.

To add fuel to the fire, the Pistons made the contract negotiations more complicated by adding a weight clause to their offer. The weight clause required Duren to check his weight monthly throughout the calendar year. It was a bit surprising as Duren has never been publicly known to struggle with his weight.

It is also understandable that the Pistons had reservations after Duren’s poor playoff past. After seriously considering taking the one-year, qualifying offer ($9.6 million) before the October 1 deadline, he agreed to a fully guaranteed five-year, $200 million contract extension to remain with the Pistons and had the weight clause removed as well.

Gilbert Arenas was ecstatic after Jalen Duren’s contract extension

Jalen Duren was named an All-Star and earned third-team All-NBA honors last season. Hence, he was eligible for a max contract worth up to five years and $287 million. However, Duren had no choice but to accept the $200 million offer, which is about $87 million less than what he was eligible for.

Jalen Duren
Jalen Duren (Image credits – Yahoo Sports)

Following the announcement, Gilbert Arenas congratulated him for securing his money.

This is probably the happiest thing that I see that I know another black got that bread. I’m happy for you but I hope you happy with the $200 million. Since you already missed training camp, go on vacation. You deserve it. I’m ecstatic about it.

Gilbert Arenas on livestream

It remains to be seen whether the tension from the prolonged negotiations could affect Duren’s long-term future in Detroit. For now, he will focus on redeeming himself after his poor playoff campaign.

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