With roughly one week to go until the Oct. 1 qualifying-offer deadline, Jalen Duren and the Detroit Pistons remain in a free-agency standoff.
According to Sam Amick and Hunter Patterson of The Athletic, the Pistons recently upped their offer to a five-year, $200 million fully guaranteed contract with no team or player options. However, Duren has "thus far rebuffed the offer," Amick and Patterson reported. Additionally, "rival teams have indicated for quite some time that Duren is very interested in playing elsewhere."
Amick and Patterson previously reported that the Sacramento Kings "have very strong interest in Duren and could make room to sign him on a max-salary deal next offseason." The NBA's latest salary-cap projection for the 2027-28 season could make that a more realistic possibility, too.
If Duren decides to take his $9.6 million qualifying offer, he'll become an unrestricted free agent next summer. He'd then be eligible for a four-year, $189.2 million contract from teams other than the Pistons, which isn't far off from the five-year, $200 million deal that the Pistons are currently offering him.
The Kings aren't the only team that could pursue Duren, though. Amick and Patterson reported that Duren has "three very serious suitors in all," including the Milwaukee Bucks.
So, let's spin through the teams that could sign Duren to a max deal next summer if he does pick up his qualifying offer. Based on current projections, Duren's max would begin at $44 million, which is the key number to keep in mind throughout here.
Golden State Warriors
Potential cap space: $100+ million
Let's start off with a bang, shall we?
The Golden State Warriors have lined their books up to have an almost entirely fresh slate next summer. Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green are all on expiring contracts, while Kristaps Porziņģis has only $3 million of his $20 million deal guaranteed.
At the moment, Moses Moody ($13.4 million), Yaxel Lendeborg ($6.4 million), Gui Santos ($5.0 million) and Will Richard ($2.5 million) are the only four Warriors players currently under contract beyond this season. Porziņģis has a $20 million mutual option—even if he picks up his player option, the rest of his deal isn't guaranteed until July 7—while Al Horford ($7.2 million) and De'Anthony Melton ($6.4 million) have standard player options.
Unless Brandin Podziemski agrees to a team-friendly extension, the Warriors will presumably allow him to become a restricted free agent next summer to maximize their financial flexibility. As Keith Smith of Spotrac recently noted, the Warriors could have more than $110 million in cap space if they renounce all of their pending free agents other than Podziemski, which would leave them with plenty of room to sign Duren, re-sign Curry and begin building out the rest of the roster from there.
Brooklyn Nets
Potential cap space: $100+ million
Save for Julius Randle's $35.8 million player option, the Brooklyn Nets' books are largely pristine for 2027-28. Terance Mann ($16.0 million), Mikel Brown Jr. ($9.2 million) and Joshua Jefferson ($3.1 million) are their only three players on guaranteed contracts for now.
The Nets have team options on Day'Ron Sharpe ($10.0 million), Egor Dёmin ($7.6 million), Josh Minott ($4.5 million), Nolan Traore ($4.2 million), Drake Powell ($3.7 million), Ben Saraf ($3.2 million) and Danny Wolf ($3.1 million), and they have mutual options on Moe Wagner ($9.5 million) and Keon Ellis ($9.0 million). They'll have to decide on the options for the rookie-scale players by Oct. 31 — many of whom they figure to pick up since they're so cheap — but they'll have until late June for the others.
The Nets will have Michael Porter Jr.'s $50-plus million cap hold on their books until they either re-sign him or he leaves to sign elsewhere as a free agent, which would cut into their spending power. But as of now, they're have plenty of flexibility to fit in Duren if so desired.
Los Angeles Clippers
Potential cap space: $90+ million
Now that the Kawhi Leonard/Brandon Ingram trade has finally gone through, the Los Angeles Clippers can start to figure out how to salvage the post-Kawhi/Aspiration era. Keaton Wagler, whom they selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2026 draft, figures to be a franchise cornerstone. Could Duren be his long-term pick-and-roll partner?
The Clippers have Darius Garland ($44.9 million), Wagler ($10.2 million), Isaiah Jackson ($6.4 million), Jordan Miller ($5.0 million), Kobe Sanders ($2.8 million), Johni Broome ($2.5 million) and Baba Miller ($2.3 million) under guaranteed contract in 2027-28. Ingram ($41.9 million) and Bradley Beal ($6.7 million) each have player options, while the Clippers have team options on Rui Hachimura ($14.0 million), Yanic Konan Niederhauser ($3.0 million) and Cameron Christie ($2.5 million).
The Clippers have only $74.0 million in guaranteed salary on their books for 2027-28 at the moment. If Ingram and Beal pick up their respective player options, the Clippers would be up to roughly $122.7 million, which could still leave them just enough wiggle room to squeeze in Duren. But offloading either Garland or Ingram would make it easy for them to afford Duren.
Memphis Grizzlies
Possible cap space: $80+ million
As the Memphis Grizzlies look to turn the page on the Ja Morant-Jaren Jackson Jr.-Desmond Bane era, they have a relatively clean cap sheet to work with. Jerami Grant is their only player earning more than $15 million either this coming season or in 2027-28.
Grant has a $36.4 million player option for the 2027-28 campaign that he figures to pick up. (He should fire his agent if he doesn't.) Beyond that, No. 3 overall pick Cameron Boozer ($12.4 million), fellow first-round rookie Karim LĂłpez ($3.9 million), Cam Spencer ($2.6 million) and Micah Peavy ($2.5 million) are the only other players under guaranteed contract beyond this season.
The Grizzlies have team options on—deep breath—Isaiah Stewart ($15.0 million), Zach Edey ($8.1 million), Cedric Coward ($6.3 million), Walter Clayton Jr. ($4.4 million), Scotty Pippen Jr. ($2.8 million) and Jaylen Wells ($2.5 million), while Ty Jerome has a $9.7 million player option and Quentin Post's $8.55 million salary is fully non-guaranteed. Even if Grant picks up his option and the Grizzlies pick up theirs on Edey, Coward, Clayton, Pippen and Wells, they'd still only have $81.9 million on their books, leaving plenty of room for Duren.
Granted, if the Grizzlies still view Edey as a building block next summer, they probably wouldn't be interested in Duren. But they're lurking as a potential free-agent landing spot, at least until they burn through some of their potential cap space this coming season by taking on salary dumps for additional draft picks/young players.
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Milwaukee Bucks
Potential cap space: $80+ million
After trading Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat this offseason, the Milwaukee Bucks will presumably spend this season figuring out which of their new pieces are long-term keepers. If they decide to move on from Milwaukee native Tyler Herro after this year, they could jump into the bidding for Duren.
The Bucks have Myles Turner ($27.9 million), Gary Trent Jr. ($16.4 million), AJ Green ($10.8 million), Brayden Burries ($6.7 million), Ousmane Dieng ($5.8 million), Nate Ament ($5.8 million) and Bogoljub Marković ($2.3 million) under guaranteed contract in 2027-28, which adds up to roughly $75.6 million. They also have team options on Kel'el Ware ($7.1 million) and Kasparas Jakucionis ($4.0 million) that they're virtual locks to pick up, while Ryan Rollins has a $4.0 million player option that he'd be crazy not to decline.
The Bucks will have hefty cap holds for Herro ($48.9 million) and Jaime Jaquez Jr. ($17.8 million) that will cut into their spending power, but they could create more wiggle room by dumping Turner into another team's cap space. Between their already-documented interest in Duren and the allure of weakening a divisional rival, they should not be discounted in this potential free-agent sweepstakes.
Chicago Bulls
Potential cap space: $75+ million
The Chicago Bulls just traded for Nic Claxton and re-signed Zach Collins this offseason, so they might not be in the market for a center next summer. But they also might not view either Claxton or Collins as a long-term answer, which could make them a Duren suitor.
Josh Giddey ($25.0 million), Claxton ($21.1 million), Patrick Williams ($18.0 million), Caleb Wilson ($11.2 million), Noa Essengue ($6.0 million) and Dailyn Swain ($5.2 million) are the only Bulls players under guaranteed contract for 2027-28. The Bulls also have team options on Norman Powell ($22.6 million), Collins ($8.5 million), Tre Jones ($8.0 million), Rob Dillingham ($8.8 million) on Matas Buzelis ($7.6 million), which will determine how much spending power they actually have.
If they turned down their team options on everyone, they could have more than $75 million in spending power. But they're a virtual lock to pick up their option on Buzelis, and Powell's option will likely be worth picking up as well. They'd still have enough cap space for a Duren max contract with Buzelis and Powell on board, although shipping Claxton elsewhere would give them plenty of breathing room to round out their roster.
Sacramento Kings
Potential cap space: $65+ million
The Sacramento Kings are paying far too much money for a mediocre roster at the moment, but relief is just around the corner. Both Zach LaVine ($49.0 million) and De'Andre Hunter ($24.9 million) are set to come off their books after this season, which could give them plenty of spending power to go on a free-agent shopping spree.
Domantas Sabonis ($48.6 million), Keegan Murray ($26.1 million), Darius Acuff Jr. ($8.4 million), Precious Achiuwa ($5.8 million), Alex Karaban ($3.1 million) and Emanuel Sharp ($1.4 million) are already on guaranteed contracts for 2027-28. Malik Monk has a $21.6 million player option, while the Kings have team options on Nique Clifford ($3.4 million), Daeqwon Plowden ($2.7 million) and Maxime Raynaud ($2.5 million), the latter of which they are a lock to pick up. Dylan Cardwell's $2.5 million deal is also fully non-guaranteed.
If the Kings pick up their team option on Raynaud and guarantee Caldwell's contract, they'd be at $99.2 million in salary for 2027-28. If Monk picks up his player option, it could become tricky for the Kings to fit a max deal for Duren, but they'd presumably look to offload Sabonis before maxing out another center. Â
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