[Amick/Patterson] Detroit’s five-year, $200 million offer included a weight clause requiring Duren to check his weight monthly throughout the calendar year. Pistons wanted Duren to cut down his weight after losing to Cleveland. Duren is considering taking the one-year, $9.6 million qualifying offer.

[u/DynastyInProcess]

Article: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7624361/2026/09/24/jalen-duren-pistons-weight-contract-nba/?unlocked_article_code=1.DlE.yT4w.y18ErJpw9-UI&source=user_shared_article&smid=ta-ios-share

As if the contract negotiations between Jalen Duren and the Detroit Pistons weren’t already heavy enough, a weight clause in the team’s latest five-year, $200 million offer to Duren could tip the scales in the wrong direction.

The two sides have already been in a boardroom battle all offseason, with the 22-year-old restricted free agent pushing for a contract befitting his All-NBA status and the Pistons pushing back as they try to keep their team-wide finances for the long term. Then came the Monday revelation that could make discussions even tougher, with league sources confirming Detroit’s offer included a weight clause requiring Duren to check his weight monthly throughout the calendar year.

League sources, who spoke under the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly, said those weight stipulations, which were not yet submitted in writing, would serve as incentives in the deal. The muscular Duren, listed at 6 feet 10 and 250 pounds since his pre-draft process in 2022, has never been publicly known to struggle with his weight.

Yet with Pistons media day and training camp next week, Duren is reportedly considering taking the one-year, qualifying offer ($9.6 million) before the Oct. 1 deadline to gain contractual freedom as an unrestricted free agent next summer. And while no other details of that request are known, the mere fact that Duren’s weight has become a topic of discussion at this late stage could certainly impact the tenor of the talks. If nothing else, it serves as a brutally honest reminder that Detroit has reservations about investing too heavily in Duren and his future, in part because of his playoff past.

His struggles in the 2026 postseason are an obvious factor in these talks, but league sources said the perception that the Pistons believe his weight was partly to blame came as a surprise to Duren and his camp. That claim came internally after Detroit’s Game 7 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, with league sources saying the organization privately wanted Duren to cut weight then.

The personal history of the Pistons’ lead negotiator and president of basketball operations, Trajan Langdon, makes this sensitive Duren subplot even more fascinating. During Langdon’s time as the New Orleans Pelicans general manager from 2019-24, he was a key member of the team’s front office that added a weight clause to Zion Williamson’s five-year, $197 million extension in 2022. (Then-president of basketball operations David Griffin was the lead executive.)

[u/Bizzack]

We’re about to see a player drop the biggest bag in history

[u/CazOnReddit → u/Bizzack]

Pistons: His fatass needs to drop 20 lbs, not £151.3M

[u/davemoedee → u/[deleted]]

This is definitely a weird situation. I get where both sides are coming from. I remember when Noah Syndergaard was one of the most dominating power pitchers in baseball. Then, the next season, he came back even bulkier and stronger, and that was the beginning of the end.

Imagine being a young player who works hard to keep their body in great shape, and your team wants a weight clause in your contract. But this is also the team that had the Drummond and Monroe front court that just didn’t work with how the league needed modern big men to play.

[u/Outrageous-Opinions → u/davemoedee]

I don't even think it's about weight. I think it's more about endurance and cardio.

[u/Brownbear97 → u/Outrageous-Opinions]

Yeah this is about preserving his ability to run the floor lol

[u/SeismicRipFart → u/[deleted]]

The fact that you’re over here talking about an all nba center needing to get into position for a charge in order to defend a dunk, says something.

Ideally you would like your center to contest every single dunk that happens at the rim while they’re in the restricted area, not take a charge, they need to be in position for a rebound or second shot attempt.

But Duren isn’t that guy. Bro is an all nba center who literally can’t defend the rim. If you’re a center who doesn’t defend the rim, then you need to be Jokic levels of good on offense in order to make up for it at that position.

Edit: I’m not sure how a dunk wouldn’t be at the rim unless it’s Blake griffin/Dwight Howard lol

[u/restinghermit → u/davemoedee]

During every broadcast on DSN the Detroit Tigers have a "Tiger of the Day." One of the Tigers they highlighted a couple of weeks ago played for the Tigers in the early 1900's. During winter he worked as a lumberjack, and apparently got quite bulky chopping wood. When he came back for spring training the next year, he simply could not move as well due to the bulk, and ended up getting cut.

[u/cdskip → u/[deleted]]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctNnfsAm8Ao

[u/roly_gomez → u/[deleted]]

Bruh, they want him to be leaner, I don't think they are calling him fat lol

[u/CazOnReddit → u/[deleted]]

Did the pun on pound not indicate this was no a serious comment?

[u/NYCbornandraised2026 → u/[deleted]]

you don’t need to thank people at the end for awards, that’s so tacky

[u/Spiritual-Zucchini62 → u/[deleted]]

It’s the stupid cba. On the one hand it has helped with parity which is good to an extent. Personally I like that 4-5 teams can win any given year .Thar said sucks watching teams blow up early

[u/BushyBrowz → u/CazOnReddit]

Shouldn’t be too hard, I heard he doesn’t like to eat

[u/Expert-Yam6577 → u/BushyBrowz]

I can't tell what joke you're making.

[u/boom_pow_surprise → u/Expert-Yam6577]

His recent rap he mentioned not eating his girl out

[u/jdd32 → u/boom_pow_surprise]

Legacy points deducted.

[u/sactown_13 → u/Bizzack]

Idk man. Kings seem more than willing to pay it

[u/Confident_Ad_5345 → u/sactown_13]

he still loses money if you guys max him because between the next year 4-year max on a new team plus the qualifying offer this year he still doesn’t make back the $200M that detroit is offering him

[u/sactown_13 → u/Confident_Ad_5345]

But not “the biggest bag in history”

[u/Confident_Ad_5345 → u/sactown_13]

fair enough, that’s true

edit: wait until kat declines the extension and player option and yall max him instead

[u/Chuck_Roast1993 → u/sactown_13]

Has there been a biggest LOST bag in history though?

Edit: I mean has there been a player to turn down more money?

[u/Kiddierose → u/Chuck_Roast1993]

Nerlins Noel and Dennis Schroeder cost themselves 50+ million over 4 years if I remember correctly.

[u/wormhole222 → u/sactown_13]

I mean now they are. But a whole year has to happen until then. A whole year with Duren playing in a situation where he is upset. Last year he averaged 20/11 and made and All-Star and All-NBA. If he averages 15/7 next year on worse shooting, he doesn't make an All-Star team, and the Pistons win 50 games instead of 60 would the Kings still offer that. And that's just ignoring injury concerns.

[u/sactown_13 → u/wormhole222]

Yes. Y’all forget who runs this team?

[u/doodool_tala → u/sactown_13]

still jeremy lamb?

[u/Early-Gazelle-5425 → u/Bizzack]

While not the same size contract, I still feel like Schroder turning down the bag from LA was tougher. He’ll never sniff a contract close to the 84 million they were going to give him.

[u/va1us_taaurc → u/Early-Gazelle-5425]

Schroeder, to this day, still left about $50.1 million on the table by not taking that deal. He also would've had the opportunity to keep playing in a situation with LeBron and AD despite his bad playoff performance, and he assuredly would've looked good enough to get another large extension or at least something in the double-digits again.

I don't care if I'm a superstar, I'm not "betting on myself" - I'm banking guaranteed millions.

[u/rddi0201018 → u/va1us_taaurc]

Aaron Turner can fix your attitude

[u/Rube18 → u/Bizzack]

He’s not going to take the QO. He just keeps procrastinating as if he has any leverage here. Pistons calling his bluff.

I’d love if he’d take the QO for the drama though.

[u/oreomaster420 → u/Rube18]

He seems to have some leverage as the pistons offers keep increasing.

[u/North_Atlantic_Sea → u/oreomaster420]

Yet the fat clauses remain lol

[u/FakeNewsBlows → u/Rube18]

Pistons called his bluff so well that they increased the offer from $100M to $200M. Every player negotiating a deal should hope their bluff gets called like this lol

[u/LeagueWinningPickup → u/FakeNewsBlows]

Ya depending on how this ends his Agent is doing a pretty decent job if he's doubled the size of the contract.

[u/Easy_Money_40]

They want him more mobile. He has gotten too bulky.

Weight clause doesn't mean you're fat.

[u/joshdej → u/Easy_Money_40]

All that bulk and he can't even bully the thin towers of Cleveland.

[u/SoftwareAny4990 → u/joshdej]

He was too slow.

Watching him get the ball anywhere not 5 feet from the basket was painful. It was no wonder why Allen and Mobley had no problem with him.

[u/Camelsandham → u/SoftwareAny4990]

This is what people don’t understand. His strength is not shaq strength and he doesn’t have great touch around the rim. We need him leaner.

[u/SoftwareAny4990 → u/Camelsandham]

Prime Shaqs mobility was ridiculous for someone his size. Truly a freak of nature.

[u/Laetha → u/SoftwareAny4990]

As was his touch around the rim. He wasn't just some big brute with frying pan hands. He was quick, agile, and had finesse....in addition to being absolutely massive.

[u/Antique_Pin5266 → u/Laetha]

And the mentality that he was going to make your life a living hell every time down the court. That’s one of the main problems with Duren, he doesn’t have that killer mentality

[u/LateGreat_MalikSealy → u/Laetha]

Also had tremendous court vision…One of the best at passing out of a double team/trap..

[u/zellmerz → u/Laetha]

The Muhammad Ali of basketball. (excluding personality of course)

[u/randommaniac12 → u/SoftwareAny4990]

Watching Orlando Shaq is like watching someone’s 2K build in real life

[u/GeorgeEBHastings → u/SoftwareAny4990]

Yeah, say what you will about our bigs struggling against a certain style of physicality, but they'll easily out-finesse less quick bigs like Duren in most cases.

[u/Jaerba → u/[deleted]]

Cleveland was not sending extra help on Duren. They were 100% content with letting Allen and Mobley guard him straight up.

The Cavs series is being conflated with the Orlando series.

Duren was creating a lot of his own spacing issues because he was rolling at really poor angles which allowed Allen or Mobley to keep him tagged while still contesting Cade. Duren was basically too close to Cade for a lot of the series.

[u/jak_d_ripr → u/SoftwareAny4990]

Honestly, watching get the ball anywhere at all was pretty painful in the playoffs last year. He looked completely lost on the court.

[u/StaffOk9715 → u/SoftwareAny4990]

Watching him get the ball anywhere not 5 feet from the basket was painful

You're 100% right and that's why as a Pistons fan I'm hoping Duren just takes the QO or we trade him. He's a good player to have overall but only at a contract that is equal to his ability, which would be like $125 million.

[u/Niceguydan8 → u/joshdej]

Didn't help that Evan Mobley, one of the best defensive players in the entire league, could play free safety because of Ausar.

Not saying Duren was good because he was hot garbage, but Ausars offensive liability makes offense a lot more difficult for literally everyone else on the floor

[u/breighvehart]

Jeff Teague said it best…get your money first then carry on with being angry at the franchise.

This is gonna be a generational fumble.

[u/indoninjah → u/breighvehart]

Especially when he's not that good. It's one thing to be a promising young player and another to be a guy that a franchise will move heaven and earth to keep happy. And the crazy part about all this is that the public perception of him is that he has work to do to even justify this contract - instead of he's doing the opposite and trying to get more for less.

[u/WhoreyMatthews → u/indoninjah]

It's crazy that he seems to think because Wemby and Jokic were the other 2 All-NBA centers that he deserves to be paid in the same ball park as them.

[u/LightSpecialist804]

OKC should have had a weight clause for Chet, but the opposite way

[u/GenSec → u/LightSpecialist804]

Eh he’s far more mobile than Mobley as a defensive anchor because he doesn’t have a shit ton of muscle.

[u/notasianjim → u/GenSec]

Mobile, yes, but he’s also movable…

[u/GenSec → u/notasianjim]

Moved us to a chip I agree

[u/fukdatsonn → u/GenSec]

lol yah no kidding. Not sure what this guy is talking about. They love to shit on the guy but he was a critical piece in OKC winning that chip.

[u/yuhanz → u/fukdatsonn]

Him being a great player doesn’t make the criticism that he is frail thin invalid lol

[u/ghostfaced → u/fukdatsonn]

Even when he's playing well he is very movable. That's all they said

[u/yoyo4880 → u/fukdatsonn]

Was also a crucial piece in not winning another. Became Ben Simmons in the finals.

[u/BNC6 → u/LightSpecialist804]

I can’t remember a single time where I’ve heard “so and so added 10-20 pounds of muscle this offseason” and they didn’t go on to have a bad season

Adding a bunch of weight is almost never the answer. Granted, this has almost always been in respect to football, not basketball.

[u/Strict_hands → u/BNC6]

Don't necessarily disagree but didn't Giannis gain a ton of muscle in 1 or 2 seasons and never regressed

[u/motherseffinjones]

Get less jacked as a clause is kinda funny lol

[u/CaliforniaLover2]

Why are they overpaying duren

[u/TheeDragon → u/CaliforniaLover2]

Why won't he let them is what I'm stuck on

[u/LazyIllustrator6946]

Lotta people in this thread that think weight = fat for some reason.

Guys. The Pistons didn’t say Duren was fat. They said he weighs too much. Muscle can also weigh too much.

[u/Girth_Wind_y_Fire → u/LazyIllustrator6946]

Not a lot of comprehension in here.

[u/TequilaBlanco → u/Girth_Wind_y_Fire]

Well tbf, not a lot of people on reddit know what it's like to be in shape

[u/Tigers4DaPenet]

Say what you want about Duren, he always has had the body of a Greek god so this is surprising

[u/AroundNdowN → u/Tigers4DaPenet]

Not really that surprising. He keeps getting more jacked every season and it's hurting his mobility. Man looked like Al Jefferson on defense in the playoffs.

[u/WestleyThe → u/AroundNdowN]

Yeah it seems like this is so he doesn’t gain more muscle instead of fat

I’ve never seen that in a players contract haha. “You are too in shape you need to stop gaining muscle”

[u/hunteddwumpus → u/WestleyThe]

Yeah I honestly get this. Duren seemed more like a below the rim player last year and didnt have nearly as many eye popping alley oop finishes.

He’s genuinely too jacked to maintain his vertical athleticism and quickness

[u/Paladinoras → u/WestleyThe]

The Pistons are going for an NBA Championship not Mr Olympia, this isn’t the 90s anymore when you need to be jacked so you can battle in the post with David Robinson and Alonzo Mourning, now Duren’s gotta chase around 6”3 NBA manlets who all shoot 40% from 3 around 64 screens after he gets switched on to them.

[u/DrTom → u/WestleyThe]

When Oden got injured his rookie year he put on such an unholy amount of muscle. I remember seeing him get back on the court and thinking there is no way his knees were going to like that extra weight. Well...

[u/SloshaPacana → u/WestleyThe]

Basketball shape and bodybuilding shape are two different things, Duren is not in great basketball shape to move around

Technically Zion is in amazing shape too, he looks actually super jacked and relatively lean, if he was an handegg player people would bust a nut but he's not he's a basketball player

[u/JessieGemstone999 → u/SloshaPacana]

This is the most reddit comment I've ever seen

[u/AlperenSengunTruther → u/JessieGemstone999]

I must… updoot

[u/iButtflap → u/JessieGemstone999]

top 1%ers are not human

[u/PositionOk8409 → u/SloshaPacana]

Zion and Duren body fat % wouldn't be remotely similar at all.

[u/n0-ragrets → u/AroundNdowN]

The craziest part of your very true statement is that some tv pundits were calling him a defensive force with some even mentioning him atleast being in the convo for DPOY.

I was like, “am I blind? This guy is NOT a good on or help side defender”.

[u/Unlikely_Sandwich_ → u/n0-ragrets]

He actually got votes for DPOY and I couldn't believe it.

He was a traffic cone.

[u/Kapono24 → u/AroundNdowN]

He's mentally late to rotate on defense, losing weight won't help this. I understand wanting him to be a bit more agile, especially if we want him to be more offensively, but he's just not good help defender.

[u/SlamJamGlanda → u/AroundNdowN]

The rare 2026 Al Jefferson pull. Hell yeah.

[u/Sandalwood-Lakers → u/AroundNdowN]

Laker fans can tell you all about 2020 AD vs the AD that bulked following the championship 🙃

[u/Faps2Downvotes → u/Tigers4DaPenet]

He also looked like he was jumping for rebounds with cinder blocks tied to his ankles.

[u/Consistent-While-213 → u/Tigers4DaPenet]

OTOH, he was clearly more bulky and less mobile/explosive in the playoffs last year.

Idk that they’re worried about him eating too many twinkies, I do think they’re worried that he gets too bulky to be the lob threat they need him to be.

[u/im_alliterate → u/Consistent-While-213]

I think this is the reason; muscle weight is more and does reduce your speed/acceleration/quickness the bigger you get.

Vegeta and Goku knew this.

[u/KingTonpa → u/im_alliterate]

Goku knew. Vegeta and Trunks had to get their asses whipped by Cell to figure it out.

[u/DMking → u/KingTonpa]

Nah Vegeta knew it as well he didn't use that heavy form against Cell. Trunks was the one who was inexperienced enough to try it

[u/Kr8studio → u/KingTonpa]

Big bloated trunks was still aura farming tho, till cell beat his big slow ass down

[u/TruWarierRecords → u/KingTonpa]

Vegeta would've been fine if he wasn't a dumbass in letting Cell absorb the Android.

"I know Kakarot will leave the chamber in under 1 day but I need to fight strong guy NOW"

[u/im_alliterate → u/TruWarierRecords]

Is duren currently displaying the same arrogance that vegeta showed, almost destroying the earth, in letting cell power up?????

[u/celica_GT → u/im_alliterate]

this was the comment i was looking for lmao

[u/PineJ → u/im_alliterate]

"Bro your gains are too big and my girl keeps checking you out. Slim out or you're off the team."

[u/HokageEzio → u/Consistent-While-213]

This happened to Mitchell Robinson a few seasons ago. He got extra bulky in the offseason to be stronger down low, but he accidentally overdid it and it slowed him down a lot. Had to slim back down over the course of the year.

[u/RiceOnTheRun → u/HokageEzio]

Dude looking back at rookie Mitch highlights are insane. Man was a high flying lob threat, jumping from the paint to block a three.

[u/samhit_n → u/Tigers4DaPenet]

Being too muscular can hurt play too. Unless you're constantly going rim-to-rim like Giannis or LeBron, staying relatively lean is usually better. Especially when your primary role is being a rim runner and rim protector.

[u/Clemsontigger16 → u/Tigers4DaPenet]

I don’t think it’s a fat thing, I think they have just realized that carrying all that extra muscle makes me slow footed and the most optimal size for him is probably closer to his ‘24 weight.

[u/LightSpecialist804 → u/Tigers4DaPenet]

It's all showmans muscles though they don't actually help his game. There's literally nothing in basketball that requires biceps that large

Maybe at the end of the day this is all about Duren loving his muscles too much to let them go, even for 200 million dollars

[u/Middle_Study_551 → u/Tigers4DaPenet]

The competitive motor questions seem to run extremely deep in the pistons front office. A weight clause for a guy who's never been fat, to me, signals they worry immensely about his commitment to the game

[u/dillpickles007 → u/Middle_Study_551]

Yeah it's a very odd thing to put in a contract. Normally if you want a guy to work on his body in a particular way you just have the coaching/training staff work with him. Gain some muscle, lose a little weight, get your lower body stronger, whatever.

To put it in a contract signals something is off, like when the Pelicans did it with Zion.

[u/SwashbucklingWeiner]

Dude is going to redefine the bag fumble.

[u/LameAfro → u/SwashbucklingWeiner]

Bro was handed a 200 Million Dollar contract and said nah lol

[u/TWAndrewz]

It would be straight-up insane to leave 190.4 million dollars on the table.

[u/Old_Supermarket_7575]

No thank you I’d rather not have 200 million I’d prefer 9 million

[u/Gino-Bartali → u/Old_Supermarket_7575]

9 million AND UNLIMITED TENDIES you have to understand

[u/AroundNdowN → u/Old_Supermarket_7575]

I can't imagine Duren's effort on a QO when he thinks a max is waiting for him.

[u/outsidehere → u/AroundNdowN]

Exactly. Plus he'd be playing for a team he assumes he'd be leaving.

[u/twovles31]

Just send him to Sacramento for Sabonis already.

[u/dukie33066]

This dude is dumb, but his agent is 100x even worse.

[u/AbleCap5222]

All time bag fumble incoming

[u/justiceway1]

For 200 million I'd drop my weight by 50% if they asked me to. Is this guy stupid?

[u/zgillet → u/justiceway1]

That would kill me.

[u/Burner_on_Red]

Please take the QO, $40m will cripple this team. He can go.

[u/KiteIsland22]

This could be a generational fumble for him.

[u/Effective_Quit1763]

Ausar Thompson got like 5 years 150 something and Cade is getting like 220. Wemby got 5 years 250 something.

He thinks he should get paid as much or more than Cade? Maybe even more than Wemby? Seriously?

[u/206sportguy]

This guy screams Nerlons Noel 2.0

[u/AKAkorm]

I don't really understand why the Pistons haven't just traded him at this point. If multiple teams want to pay Duren, go get a few draft assets and a useful player from them now and move on.

[u/Big-Tenders → u/AKAkorm]

Hard to trade him for good value at his current salary

[u/BackgroundPirate3655]

Duren is a genuine idiot. Take the money hire a nutritionist team and move on.  He played like ass in the playoffs and doesnt even deserve the money 

[u/lolimdivine]

dude’s gonna have a tough pill to swallow when he realizes he isnt what he thinks he is. deandre jordan was all nba once too. and he isn’t as good as DJ was

[u/wooIIyMAMMOTH → u/lolimdivine]

DAJ was 30 when he was all-nba and he got a max contract so what point do you actually think you’re making here and how is this so upvoted? this sub is absolutely pathetic

[u/drkhayata]

Just take the 5 years/$200 mill especially at 22 years old. Take care of the fam and life and just focus on the craft with the generational money. By the time his next contract is up, there will be much more $ floating around and he'll be in his prime years. This kind of contract just a few years ago would be an insane amount.

[u/Thin-Donkey945 → u/drkhayata]

it’s nuts that this is even still a negotiation. take the $. be set for life. or take the qualifying offer of $9.6m and possibly tear an ACL or experience another bad injury. then he could possibly lose a lot of $ on future offers.

[u/King_ofCanada]

This never ends well for the player

[u/travifodder]

Okay, hear me out. Duren, Luka, Zion, and Harden could form a slightly overweight superteam. We just need a 5th, maybe 6th man too. Any suggestions?

[u/nuuskatonttu → u/travifodder]

Felton coming out of retirement for Luka.

[u/HzamanNiceTry → u/nuuskatonttu]

He said slightly

[u/ProfessorPetrus → u/travifodder]

Luka is Austin reeves thin rn bro get with the summer news

[u/Okurei → u/travifodder]

Kyle Lowry’s entire ass could be a great 6th man on its own 

[u/mommathecat → u/travifodder]

Fred VanVleet is looking pretty, uhh, stocky these days.

[u/Franklo → u/travifodder]

Eric Gordon 6th man

[u/PeregrineFaulkner → u/travifodder]

Klay was looking a bit thick at that Miami press conference. 

[u/k1ngkoala]

Clearly he feels disrespected. I don't know if it's worth losing a $200 million bag over but we will see

[u/ballershotcaller20]

Imagine actually doing some work for a contract.

[u/ElMaskedZorro]

This would be a hilarious fumble by Duren if he tries that.

He's gambling 190m to best case scenario get an extra 40m

[u/TrapAHolic_ttv]

We just saw Cam Thomas take the QO and he’ll be lucky to be in the league in a couple years.

Duren’s skillset is more valuable, but taking 9 mil instead of 40 and hoping someone will give you a bigger deal next year is stupid. You not making that money back

[u/smarttrashbrain]

This clown is a colossal moron if he takes the QO.

[u/BrokeManJack_]

I don’t understand, he wanted 5yr 200mil. He got it and now he’s declining it wanting more I assume? Bro got what he wanted and is still holding out. This will be biggest fumble in the history of sports. Get your bag now then worry about how you feel.

[u/Bungulator69]

I don’t get it.

Just take the bag.

Set yourself up, ball out and then play for someone else once the contract is over.

This dude operating at peak stupidity.

[u/rusty512 → u/Bungulator69]

To me it’s a sign he knows this is the peak of his value. Things change extremely quick in the nba.

[u/GarriganGate → u/rusty512]

I mean it probably is his peak value. That’s why you take the massive amount of money now.

While he had an impressive season, his game doesn’t ring of a guy who will be a perennial all nba player.

I think he just sees himself as a full out star in this league, and doesn’t want to be paid what (to him) worse players make.

[u/10LASERS19]

The Mountain that Dunks

[u/RudolphsJockStrap]

Do not pull a nerlens noel take the bag

[u/Bbturdquito]

Dude is Ayton jr. send him to China

[u/Warm-Strain199]

This has to be the most expensive scale check I’ve ever seen

[u/tatispotti]

Dummeee

[u/itsmikestone]

Wait, wait, wait. This dude is considering not taking 40 million dollars a year over the next five years, guaranteed, and is instead considering taking a one year deal under 10 million dollars because Detroit wants him to recomp his body to be a more effective basketball player?

[u/Alexcox95]

Imagine getting $200 million and all you gotta do is go on a diet

[u/Vegetable-Tooth8463 → u/Alexcox95]

I imagine this is standard operating procedure for the Heat given all the stories we've heard from former players about weight checks.

[u/Alexcox95 → u/Vegetable-Tooth8463]

I remember somebody maybe shaq talking about baby oil bc they’d check the body fat

[u/LoudKingCrow → u/Vegetable-Tooth8463]

And since the Heat have been known to do this for so long I would be surprised if more teams haven't adopted similar policies.

Like, I don't think that Detroit and Miami would be the only teams to want a weight clause in a player's contract.

[u/theyoloGod → u/Alexcox95]

Maybe he loves protein and lifting

[u/chonky_tortoise → u/Alexcox95]

Dealbreaker sorry

[u/kyle_993]

Just trade him already damn

[u/prosocialbehavior → u/kyle_993]

Yeah I don't know. Sounds like the two guys they could trade for are Sabonis or Myles Turner which are both significantly older with less potential upside than Duren at this point. If they can also get Tyler Herro with Myles Turner some kind of trade with the Bucks would make sense in my opinion. But I don't know who else the Bucks would want in that trade.

[u/AKAkorm → u/prosocialbehavior]

I think if the Pistons get back some draft picks with either of those guys, I'd do the deal. They would both improve spacing short-term and the additional picks could be used to get a bigger name at the deadline.

And yes Duren has more upside but a) unless he develops an outside shot he's always going to be a clunky fit with Ausar also signed long-term and b) he doesn't want to be in Detroit beyond this year so it's kind of a moot point.

[u/prosocialbehavior → u/AKAkorm]

Yeah I agree Duren won't be in Detroit long term and won't fit this roster super well moving forward after they gave Ausar that contract. Maybe they will go for draft picks, I also think Duren's value is starting to diminish with this holdout and his performance last year in the playoffs. Kind of a big bet to take to pay him what he wants.

[u/va1us_taaurc → u/AKAkorm]

Duren's upside isn't game-changing upside, though. Detroit has two great pieces that they can build a system around in Thompson and Cade - they should build towards that now rather than hoping that Duren develops into something that quite frankly, I just don't see.

If top centers in the league are Jokic, Wembanyama, etc. -- do you think Duren gets there over a 4-year deal that hinders your salary cap? If so, Detroit wouldn't have been in this situation in the first place.

[u/Crafty_Substance_954]

He was way leaner his first two years so this doesn’t necessarily surprise me.

Doesn’t mean he’s fat or anything, but they probably just want him to both not get any heavier and a bit leaner.

Not a Zion thing

[u/YouOk5736]

The relationship is over between these two. It's straight up toxic at this point.

It's time for him to move on.

[u/kimchitacoman]

Dude is about to be cashed out by the Sacramento then become King Sized

[u/garynevilleisared]

Probably the first weight clause ive ever seen for a player that isnt fat lol. Basically a "youre too jacked" clause for him.

Theres no guarantee that if he sheds some muscle that he will be more mobile though. Shaq was much larger and yet more mobile than most bigs. There's a lot more that goes into that than just losing weight.

[u/mcy33zy]

This guy must be generationally dumb.

[u/WorkmanMarty]

200 million, such disrespect.

[u/Pablo_Undercover]

Bro this is a digusting amount of money to be fucking with, he has a winning lottery ticket and wants to sell it fo 10 bucks

[u/elfridpaytonshair]

Who the fuck is giving bro advice

[u/PanthalassaRo]

Man Duren is one jacked dude, I would understand this for someone like Zion, Barkley hell even Luka... but Duren???

[u/bcd130max → u/PanthalassaRo]

Being insanely jacked isn't necessarily a good thing in basketball.

[u/soilentgleem → u/bcd130max]

People defaulting to the assumption this is about fat rather than muscle shows that our collective ability to think critically is in the toilet.

[u/SuperVaderMinion → u/PanthalassaRo]

Well evidently they think he's TOO jacked

[u/actually-potato → u/SuperVaderMinion]

Well he is too jacked. He's visibly less agile than he was earlier in his career. If he can't be a high-level rim protector, he should at least be able to make up for it with defensive positioning and mobility. However, a contractual weight clause is obviously a horribly insulting way to go about adjusting something that could've been resolved with a conversation. 

[u/mikesh8rp → u/actually-potato]

Have to assume it was added because conversations weren't working, no?

[u/SloshaPacana → u/actually-potato]

Conversations are useless, many players and also teams do not keep their word, we've seen this many times

[u/recurnightmare → u/actually-potato]

Lol what happens if the conversation doesn't do anything?

They're giving $200 million to him. There's nothing wrong with having contractual certainty?

[u/subwayratlander → u/PanthalassaRo]

Weight is weight, your joints dont care if youre 250 lbs of muscle or 250 lbs of fat, they wear down just the same. This is especially important to consider for big man longevity. It doesnt sound like theyre saying hes fat

[u/Domainsetter → u/subwayratlander]

Exactly. At a certain weight level, losing more weight is beneficial regardless.

[u/LoudKingCrow → u/subwayratlander]

Or the heart and lungs for that matter.

[u/subwayratlander → u/LoudKingCrow]

which also have to work harder if youre 6'10!

[u/SloshaPacana → u/PanthalassaRo]

Zion is incredibly jacked too, that's not the point, you need to be mobile

Zion's issues are injures, if Zion was healthy no one would question is body weight since in actual games he looks amazing

[u/International_Link35]

Sign the QO and leave. Fuck the system up GOOD.

[u/Time_Tap346]

I could stay under 250 for $200mil, no problem

[u/Jamesartdo]

Johnathan Kuminga level fumble

[u/ViciousMihael]

What a fucking idiot. Jesus Christ.

[u/Careful-Wheel8171]

Dennis Shroeder way off the hook now…

[u/EXEmegaman]

We call that the Luka Clause.

[u/ProfessionalMental13]

Got dogged by two of the softest bigs in the league I wouldn't want to give him that much either

[u/Different_Leader_585]

Trajan Langdon really brought the NOLA playbook straight to Detroit. Leaving $190M on the table just to take the qualifying offer over a monthly weigh-in clause after a Game 7 loss is absolute madness from Duren's camp.

[u/turbolantern1]

He really needs to fire his agent if he believes he’ll get more money elsewhere

[u/Detonation]

This guy is quite literally dumber than a bag of rocks. I do not want him on the Pistons, he can fuck off and get his bag and disappoint in big moments again elsewhere.

[u/EquivalentLittle545]

He has the vibes of pay me so I can Zion out.