John Niyo: No disrespect, but it's time for Duren, Pistons to end the drama

DETROIT — It takes a deadline to make a deal.

So in that sense, at least, you could view all the drama that was drummed up Monday as the Pistons — like all but two other teams across the NBA — held their annual preseason media day as much ado about nothing.

This wasn’t the real deadline for Jalen Duren, the Pistons’ All-NBA center, to agree on a new contract with the team. That pivot point comes Thursday, as Oct. 1 is the last day a restricted free agent can accept a qualifying offer, unless his team chooses to extend that window.

Until then, all this is mostly just posturing. If we’re still talking about Duren being a no-show at training camp after that, well, then we’ve got a bona fide bonfire here.

Still, this was our first chance to see what all the fuss is about, if you will. This was our first opportunity to hear just how frustrated the Pistons’ front office has grown over this contract negotiation that, somewhat inexplicably, has dragged on all summer and now into the fall.

And while Trajan Langdon did his best to hide it Monday, the tension in the room was palpable, at times.

The Pistons’ president acknowledged he hasn’t spoken personally to Duren all summer, which isn’t a surprise. But to hear Langdon refer to him as “the young man” in answering that question was a bit jarring, frankly.

So was the way Langdon dismissed the various reports circulating in recent days about Duren feeling “disrespected” by the Pistons, perhaps going all the way back to last summer’s rookie extension offer, which fell well short of the one his teammate Ausar Thompson just signed.

“I won’t let anybody’s feelings get in the way of decisions I make professionally — that has nothing to do with it,” said Langdon, who’s more interested in Duren playing games for Detroit than he is in Duren’s camp playing games through the media. “So reports that are out there are also meaningless to me.”

And maybe it meant nothing when Langdon reminded another reporter Monday that this wasn’t his first rodeo when it came to dealing with a disgruntled star.

“It's the first time I've had to handle it here,” said Langdon, who is entering his third season leading the Pistons. “I was in New Orleans for five years with a certain player that wasn't easy to deal with, either. So I do have experience in that.”

I’m assuming that’s a reference to Zion Williamson, which isn’t the most flattering comparison to make, if so. But that’s beside the point, really. What’s alarming is that it has gotten to this point with a player that Langdon himself still referred to Monday as part of the “core” he’s building around here in Detroit. And that instead of focusing on the upcoming season, as the Pistons try to build off last year’s 60-win campaign that claimed the No. 1 seed in the East, Langdon spent much of his media session Monday effectively calling the bluff of Duren and his agent, Chafie Fields.

“Regardless of what his decision is, what we can control is the way that we welcome him in when he makes that decision,” Langdon said, effectively dismissing any notion the Pistons would entertain sign-and-trade offers involving their 22-year-old All-Star big man. “He's going to be a huge part of the team, regardless of which decision he does make.

“He will be a Detroit Piston, and we'll do everything we can to support him and get the best version of him, which is what we've done the past two years. And that will not change. Those are things that we can control. His decision is not one that we can control.”

Neither is Duren’s agent, obviously. And it’s worth noting that Fields’ other notable NBA client, Tari Eason, went a similar route in betting on himself last summer before ultimately settling — reportedly for less — on his RFA deal in Houston this July.

In Duren’s case, the wait may well be worth it financially, even after his disastrous playoff performance this spring ended any illusions about him landing a max deal in Detroit. And even if it means alienating a fanbase that was already hedging after watching Duren shrink in the postseason spotlight against Orlando and Cleveland.

Technically, he’s eligible for a five-year, $287 million max extension here, by virtue of the third-team All-NBA honor he received last season. But the offer that’s on the table now — at least $195 million over five years — seems more than fair, and probably is a fair bit more than the Pistons’ initial bid months ago.

“Negotiation is negotiation, so that's all that's going on right now,” Langdon said, though he declined to talk about any specifics. “And I don't hold anything against him or his group. We're trying to put a team together, and they're trying to get the client paid the most money they can.”

In terms of average annual value, that $40 million offer for Duren would rank eighth among NBA centers, comfortably ahead of the five-year, $185 million extension Houston’s Alperen Sengun signed a couple years ago or the four-year, $130 million contract Walker Kessler got from the Lakers this summer.

The alternative for Duren is to sign the $9.6 million qualifying offer, which would allow him to hit unrestricted free agency next summer. But even then, a max deal would be limited to four years and just under $190 million, meaning he’d be assuming a big risk this season with almost no reward waiting on the other end.

The qualifying offer is a big risk for the Pistons, too, obviously. And the possibility of losing Duren for nothing after this season is about the only leverage the player has here. But it still seems like a long shot: He’d be the first All-NBA or All-Star player this century to accept a qualifying offer instead of signing an extension, according to ESPN.

And though there certainly would be suitors next July, I’m not sure he’d find a better situation than the one he’s in now in Detroit, where the head coach, J.B. Bickerstaff, has his back and the team’s leader, Cade Cunningham, is both an ideal facilitator and his biggest fan.

“Yeah, I mean, that’s my brother — on the court, off the court,” Cunningham said Monday. “So the best thing I can do is be there for him, to support him, encourage him, not let him get too down. … When he gets back, we’re gonna welcome him with open arms. We can’t wait for him to get back.”

Bickerstaff said he has told Duren the same, as they’ve stayed in contact throughout the summer. So have other members of the Pistons’ player development staff, by the way, and not just over the phone.

“I mean, he knows how I feel about him, and I continue to let him know how I feel about him, and that's really all that matters,” Bickerstaff said. “I love J.D. I know how JD feels about me and how he feels about being a member of the Pistons. It's positive. I know there's a lot of things out there being said, but he's a huge part of what we do, he's a huge part of where we are right now.”

And, really, that’s all that’s left for both parties here. After all that's been said, it’s time to set aside any negative feelings and get this done.

____