​WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 17: Jalen Duren #0 of the Detroit Pistons reacts against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Capital One Arena on March 17, 2026 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)Getty ImagesNearly three months to the day after becoming a restricted free agent, Jalen Duren finally agreed to a new contract on Thursday. With an hour-and-a-half to go until the NBA’s qualifying-offer deadline, he decided to re-sign with the Detroit Pistons on a five-year, $200 million fully guaranteed contract, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.Leading up to the qualifying-offer deadline, talks were contentious between the two sides. The Pistons bumped their offer up from $190 million to $200 million last week, but they included a weight clause which rubbed Duren’s camp the wrong way, according to Sam Amick and Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. They removed that on Wednesday, which paved the way for Duren to accept the deal.Over the past few weeks, Duren’s camp leaked to multiple reporters that he was considering taking his $9.6 million qualifying offer instead of signing a long-term deal with the Pistons. That would have allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason, and he reportedly had multiple teams interested in him. However, that would have been an enormous risk, as an injury could have obliterated his earning potential. In the end, cooler heads prevailed, and Duren is now locked up as a member of the Pistons’ core alongside Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson. The Pistons called Duren’s bluff, and they won without having to significantly raise their offer.The Math Favored The PistonsOnce the Pistons bumped their offer up from $190 million to $200 million, the math was in their favor.The NBA recently raised its projection for the 2027-28 salary cap from $174 million to $176 million, according to Fred Katz and John Hollinger of The Athletic. Based on that projection, teams other than the Pistons couldn’t have offered Duren more than a four-year, $189.2 million contract as a free agent next summer. Combine that with his $9.6 million qualifying offer, and Duren would have earned $1.2 million less by going that route—and that’s assuming he landed a max contract in free agency.Amick reported in late June that Duren was “underwhelmed” by the Pistons’ initial offer and was “planning to explore sign-and-trade scenarios,” but the Pistons spent all offseason refusing to play ball on those. They did gradually move their offer up as the summer went along, but they stopped well short of the max deal that Duren was eligible to receive.Since Duren made an All-NBA team this past season, he could have gotten a five-year deal worth $287 million. But fresh off a disastrous playoff run, that was never on t