What is more likely to happen: Vin Diesel winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for the final installment of “Fast & Furious” or Jalen Duren finding happiness with the Detroit Pistons?
At this point, it is probably the former.
The Pistons have tried their best to appease Duren amid their negotiations for a contract extension. Detroit has offered a five-year, $200 million deal, including removing the weight clause. Still, the 22-year-old center has refused to budge, remaining adamant about wanting a maximum deal.
The Athletic's Sam Amick and Hunter Peterson reported that the Pistons have not entertained teams that are eyeing a sign-and-trade for Duren, including the Sacramento Kings and the Milwaukee Bucks. Amick and Peterson also claimed that the Washington Wizards have become interested as well.
That, however, has been redacted.
“An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that the Wizards would have interest in a potential Duren-Anthony Davis sign-and-trade. The article has been corrected by removing that reference,” clarified The Athletic.
Article Continues BelowESPN's Marc Spears also reported that the Wizards, plus the Atlanta Hawks, have been monitoring Duren's situation.
Davis has been linked to multiple teams in the offseason, but the Wizards stressed that they were not keen on shipping him. The 10-time All-Star also maintained that he is looking forward to helping Washington become competitive.
However, for what it is worth, Duren is a better fit in terms of timeline for the Wizards, as he would team up with AJ Dybantsa, Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Bub Carrington, and Tre Johnson, among others.
It is still unclear whether Duren and the Pistons are nearing a compromise, but the front office reiterated that retaining the first-time All-NBA is the goal.
Duren, who averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds last season, has until Thursday to accept the Pistons' multi-year proposal or agree to a one-year, $9.6 million qualifying offer, which would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer.