Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[michaeltex]

Every league source I've spoken to over the years and in recent weeks has reiterated that no one really expects Jokić to leave Denver. Waiting also makes financial sense: Next summer, he could sign a projected five-year, $360 million deal — the richest deal in NBA history.

Yahoo! Sports

Is any player worth $72M/year, all guaranteed, at age 33+? That's an estimated $1M/actual games played. He's averaged 71.4 games played over the last 5 years, not counting playoffs.

[Chicagojk]

Umm....Clippers....

[Murray] Trent Redden said that Brandon Ingram had a partially torn Achilles' tendon, along with heel surgery. He will not be ready to begin the regular season.

[Chicagojk]

Barring an extension of the deadline at Detroit’s discretion, Duren has until 11:59 PM ET on Thursday to do what he has been contemplating for months and sign his $9.6 million qualifying offer for the 2026-27 season with the intent to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. Is he truly willing to leave hundreds of millions of dollars on the table — with Detroit said to be offering a five-year deal worth up to $200 million — to gain much more control over his future than he has as an RFA? As we've written before: There will be league-wide skepticism until it actually happens … even though negotiations proved far more contentious than anyone imagined when last season ended.
The Pistons, like 27 other teams, start practicing Tuesday morning. Yet it was clarified to The Stein Line on Sunday night by a source briefed on the process that Duren is not permitted by league rules — even if he wanted to — to participate in any of Detroit's activities this week until his contractual status is resolved.


marcstein.substack.com

I thought this was a whole negotiating play.  Get Detroit to raise their offer a tad.  It appears Detroit did.   Duren has made 20 million for his career.    I find it hard to believe he will turn down 200 million with the hope that he gets something close next year.   200 million is probably too rich for what he has shown so far in his career.   You can't let your money get angry.   Sign the contract and move on imo.     In 5 year (or maybe 4 if you force it) you can go somewhere else and still be in your prime.  That 200 million is life changing money for generations.   Or it should be.

He could do both, but I would have loved for him to have his full focus of fixing what happened in the playoffs and show the player he should be.   It seems like most of the energy is going into getting mad at Detroit.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Shams Charania: The Charlotte Hornets are waiving former No. 8 pick Rob Dillingham, sources tell ESPN. Charlotte will incur a $6.9M cap hit on Dillingham. There was a team option for next season that is now voided. Dillingham has 2 years of service and is eligible to either sign a standard or Two-Way contract with a team. The former lottery pick is 21 years old.

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[HoosierDaddyKid]

Marc Spears: "Jalen Duren, he hasn't even talked to Trajan for months. A Pistons source told me they still think he'll sign the big deal. But if not, an NBA GM told me the Milwaukee Bucks, the Atlanta Hawks, the Sacramento Kings, and the Washington Wizards... have interest in a potential sign-and-trade. The Wizards?!?!?

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[SleepingHero]

Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA)
Jalen Duren officially has 24 hours to make a decision on his $9.6M qualifying offer from the Pistons.

[KillerLeft]

Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA)
Jalen Duren officially has 24 hours to make a decision on his $9.6M qualifying offer from the Pistons.

If I were DET, I'd lower my offer back to the original range ($180 millionish, if memory serves) right about now. 

It's so crystal clear that something's broken with this relationship, so my goal would be for him to play on the QO. At least then I'd know he was about to play hard.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Shams Charania: Toronto Raptors guard Jamal Shead has agreed to a three-year, $24 million contract extension with the franchise, his agent KJ Smith tells ESPN. The new deal keeps Shead under contract through the 2029-30 season. Shead lands an extension just two seasons after going No. 45 in the 2024 NBA draft. The 6-foot-1 guard had 354 total assists off the bench in 2025-26 -- a league-best and the most in franchise history for a reserve -- while playing all 82 regular-season games before averaging 9 points, 5 assists, and 1.4 steals in 7 playoff games (4 starts).

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[HoosierDaddyKid]

Bobby Marks: Here is the difference of Jalen Duren signing with Detroit for 5/200M and the Qualifying Offer and max salary in 2027. There is certainly a significant risk and Duren needs to know $189M is waiting for him, but there is not much difference in the $$. With Detroit: 2026-27: 34,482,759 / 2027-28: 37,241,379 / 2028-29: 40,000,000 / 2029-30: 42,758,621 / 2030-31: 45,517,241 = 200,000,000. QO +2027 Max offer: 2026-27: 9,615,393 / 2027-28: 44,000,000 / 2028-29: 46,200,000 / 2029-30: 48,400,000 / 2030-31: 50,600,000 = 198,815,393 Without an agreement today, the $9.6M QO will expire at 11:59 PM ET. The QO can be extended, but that is less likely.

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[F Gump]

Bobby Marks: Here is the difference of Jalen Duren signing with Detroit for 5/200M and the Qualifying Offer and max salary in 2027. There is certainly a significant risk and Duren needs to know $189M is waiting for him, but there is not much difference in the $$. With Detroit: 2026-27: 34,482,759 / 2027-28: 37,241,379 / 2028-29: 40,000,000 / 2029-30: 42,758,621 / 2030-31: 45,517,241 = 200,000,000. QO +2027 Max offer: 2026-27: 9,615,393 / 2027-28: 44,000,000 / 2028-29: 46,200,000 / 2029-30: 48,400,000 / 2030-31: 50,600,000 = 198,815,393  Without an agreement today, the $9.6M QO will expire at 11:59 PM ET. The QO can be extended, but that is less likely.

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I tend to hope that these players will refuse to sign the QO, thinking that by doing so they will be forcing the team to bend to their will, and find out how real life works. I've seen it once, over the years, and it was almost a career ender.

[DallasMaverick]

If I were DET, I'd lower my offer back to the original range ($180 millionish, if memory serves) right about now. 

It's so crystal clear that something's broken with this relationship, so my goal would be for him to play on the QO. At least then I'd know he was about to play hard.

The thing that’s broken in the relationship is that DET is only offering a measly $200m, while Jalen and everyone around him know that he’s worth far more than that.

So the offer was actually an insult, and he feels terribly disrespected.

See also Grimes, Quentin. And Kuminga, Jonathan. And a host of others.

Maybe about to be Davis, Anthony.

[Smitty]

@ChrisBHaynes
BREAKING: Restricted free agent center Jalen Duren has agreed to accept the five-year, $200M contract from the Detroit Pistons, league sources tell me.

[KillerLeft]

@ChrisBHaynes
BREAKING: Restricted free agent center Jalen Duren has agreed to accept the five-year, $200M contract from the Detroit Pistons, league sources tell me.

I think it was a mistake for DET to offer this deal and let it sit there so long as he turned his nose up at it. He's just not worth this contract, full stop.

[Reunion Mav]

Next up: Detroit fans become more and more aware of the albatross contract. Successful teams moving forward may be the ones that avoid high dollar overpays and do hang on to true max level players who manage to still outperform their contracts.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Next up: Detroit fans become more and more aware of the albatross contract. Successful teams moving forward may be the ones that avoid high dollar overpays and do hang on to true max level players who manage to still outperform their contracts.

This isn't the first time a team overpays to keep a key player and won't be the last. He went through this charade for months when he could have agreed to this deal from the start. Just a bunch of wasted time if you ask me. Being all in his feelings, talking about disrespect. I'm just waiting to see how this affects the locker room dynamic, and whether his game improves incrementally to justify it.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Tim MacMahon on Kristaps Porzingis: "This is why the Warriors signed the contract they did, which is two years, $40 million, but the second year only has $3 million guaranteed. They can get out of it next summer and open up more cap space. But if we are literally talking about the Warriors this season and their outlook, they now, at least entering training camp right now, don't have three starters. Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody are out until mid-season, probably, and then we'll see on Kristaps Porzingis. These are three of their six most important players."

YouTube

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Coach Brown on Andre Drummond: “He’s a veteran; he’s been there, done that with a few different teams. He’s big body, he’s got great feet. It seems like his instincts are pretty good on both ends of the floor. What stands out most, and it’s early, we’re just getting started, is that his feet and hands are quicker than you might imagine. He’s really light on his feet, which is a good thing. Having a guy that size with length and athleticism that understands the league can be beneficial long-term for us.”

YouTube

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Duane Rankin: The Phoenix Suns are exercising their third-year option on Khaman Maluach and their fourth-year option on Ryan Dunn, the team announced today. Suns coach Jordan Ott essentially said he wants to decide on the starting center between Oso Ighodaro and Khaman Maluach "a couple of days" before the Oct. 21 season opener at Portland Trail Blazers. “We’ve got two soldiers that are going to come in, compete, do what’s best for the team. Who starts, who finishes, it’s going to change. Every night is a little bit different. Matchups are different, but once you get a starting center, you want to keep him for as long as you can until you have to make a change.” Mark Williams (shoulder) will be out for several months due to injury. #Suns

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[omahen]

This isn't the first time a team overpays to keep a key player and won't be the last. He went through this charade for months when he could have agreed to this deal from the start. Just a bunch of wasted time if you ask me. Being all in his feelings, talking about disrespect. I'm just waiting to see how this affects the locker room dynamic, and whether his game improves incrementally to justify it.

Based on all the reports, this deal was not on the table from the start. First Detroit offer was in the range of 20+ per, dating back to 2025. After that there were rumblings from this summer of 180 mil offers and weight clauses. Duren (or his representation) managed to get 20 mil more, weight clause was gone. At the end of the day, he is the winner of this negotiations. 

As for overpaying. Free agency (even restricted) is always a choice between keeping or losing for nothing. Detroit had a chance to force him to take the QO, but then he would be gone for sure in the summer and Detroit would get nothing but a huge hole at center. Whether he was bluffing or not, whether this would be a good decision for him or not, it is obvious that Detroit believed he will go through it. So from their perspective, is it better to get nothing or overpay? Neither option is good, but I think overpaying is less bad. Even if he doesn't improve, he is an above average center.

[Chicagojk]

I think Duren is good.   How he handled this free agency raises some red flags to me.  He flopped in the playoffs this year but the league is filled with players who have had bad playoff series who eventually figure it out.    His and his agents actions during this process was really confusing.   Something to watch.

Detroit will be good but they have a tricky future.    In today cap, they have 3 (or 2.5) high priced guys.    These three guys are sort of an odd fit.   Cade can fit with anyone but Thompson and Duren fits with each other is a little clunky.  At least now

Detroit really needs another creator to be the #2 for Cade.  The issue is can you pay big money to that player when you are already paying Duren, Thompson and Cade?   A trade would be easier if Holland makes a jump.   I have trouble seeing another non shooter is going to be added to that Detroit core.   So they have Holland and draft picks.    It will be interesting to see how they look to raise the team another level.