Detroit Pistons rookie Ebuka Okorie on Las Vegas Summer League debut
Detroit Pistons rookie Ebuka Okorie talks Las Vegas Summer League debut at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas on Thursday, July 9, 2026.
Consider it a tale of two deals: The Boston Celtics traded Jaylen Brown on July 1 for a package built around two future first-round picks. The following week, San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama signed a $252 million maximum extension – almost $50 million less than the $301 million “supermax” he was eligible for.
The two moves represent different solutions to a problem the Detroit Pistons are currently facing with their restricted free agent, Jalen Duren. Las Vegas Summer League has wrapped up and the franchise remains committed to signing Duren to a long-term contract, but the two sides have yet to reach an agreement.
There is a substantial gap between the maximum five-year, $287 million contract Duren is eligible for, and the contract the Pistons are offering him. Among several reasons for the gap is the existence of the second tax “apron,” a $221.7 million mark – roughly $60 million above the NBA’s official “soft” salary cap – which essentially functions as a hard cap, placing multiple punitive restrictions on teams that surpass it.
It’s not a question of affordability, but flexibility. Teams over the second apron, for example, lose access to the mid-level exception – which the Pistons used this summer to bring in sharpshooter Isaiah Joe without having to give up salary in return. They’re barred from trading cash – the method in which the Pistons acquired a second-round pick to take big man Ugonna Onyenso in June’s draft. They can’t sign-and-trade – how the Pistons landed John Collins from the Los Angeles Clippers – either.
It has forced the front office, along with the rest of the league, to think hard about the value of a maximum contract. The Pistons already have Cade Cunningham entering the second season of a five-year supermax worth $269 million. They also want to extend Ausar Thompson, who is fresh off an All-Defensive first-team selection and finishing third in Defensive Player of the Year voting – a DPOY win would make him eligible for a supermax deal as well – as the final member of their “Big 3” this summer.
The Pistons have concluded they can’t afford all three unless they pay Duren his market rate, which is well under the max. The Spurs similarly saw Wembanyama accept less money – he signed for the 25% max rather than negotiating a 30% supermax escalator – to help them can one day extend two of their other young stars, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.
On the other hand, the Celtics learned the hard way with Brown and Jayson Tatum. Each is on the veteran’s version of the supermax, which allowed them to start a contract at 35% of the salary cap in Year 1. The Celtics determined they couldn’t afford to continue paying both superstars on long-term deals and remain a title contender – though they nearly were able to deal Brown for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who makes slightly more.
“The path looked a little bit more challenging with 70% of our cap and such a high percentage of our usage tied into two players,” Celtics president Brad Stevens said July 6 after dealing Brown to the rival Philadelphia 76ers, citing newfound “optionality” with the trade.
Duren was named third-team All-NBA following a breakout season averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds on 65% shooting. He co-starred with Cunningham on the best Pistons team in nearly two decades – the franchise’s third-ever team to win at least 60 games and first to make the second round of the NBA playoffs since 2008.
Duren, like Wembanyama, earned rookie supermax extension eligibility by making an All-NBA team. That means Duren can sign a contract worth up to 30% of the salary cap – in his case, around $287 million over five seasons. The Pistons have offered him a contract well short of that – even below the previous maximum contract Duren was eligible for, which was worth 25% of the cap, or $239 million over five years.
That’s because of his underwhelming performance in the playoffs, and a market that has yet to put pressure on the Pistons to offer more. In 14 playoff games, Duren’s numbers anchored to just 10.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks on 51.4% shooting.
Only the Pistons can offer Duren a contract worth five years, and up to 30% of the salary cap. Outside teams are limited to a four-year deal worth 25% of the cap, or $177.4 million total over four years. No teams have the remaining cap space.
Regardless of who offers it, a 25% max for Duren would start at around $41.2 million next season. The difference is the Pistons can offer five years and 8% annual raises, versus four years and 5% raises by an outside team. That’s how to get to $239 million over five years for the Pistons. They also can match any offer sheet, but one has yet to be presented to Duren.
After several salary clearing moves this offseason, the Pistons now have the ability to pay Duren a contract starting at the 25% max next season while still staying under the luxury tax. There are alternatives to offering the full 25% max that the Pistons could pursue, such as a declining salary or a shorter contract that would allow Duren to test the market unfettered sooner.
They currently have roughly $154 million on the books for 2026-27, about $46 million less than the $200 million luxury tax threshold, $55 million under the $209 million first apron and more than $67 million under the $221.7 million second apron. They likely will try to stay under the tax next season, before an extension for Thompson would kick in entering the 2027-28 season.
It’s unclear how the standoff between the 22-year-old Duren and the Pistons will be wrapped up. Duren’s market clearly has dried up. His only other option – perhaps the nuclear option – is accepting the $9.62 million qualifying offer for the 2026-27 season and becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer.
The Pistons want Duren back. They want him to be happy. They will find out if there’s a number that can get them there, without compromising the flexibility they need to both accommodate Thompson and build out the rest of their roster in the years to come.
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at [email protected]. Follow him on X and/or Bluesky.
