It has been over two months now since free agency began, but there is still no resolution on restricted free agent Jalen Duren's future. Duren and the Detroit Pistons haven't been able to agree on a long-term deal, and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Gree n had a warning for the big man on the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show .
"Jalen Duren bet on himself last year," Green said. "He also had a rough playoff. How your player comes out of this on the other side is important. The relationships, all of that, I think is important because the more you win, the more things stay put. The more you're welcomed in the place, the more that place becomes home. I don't know that Jalen Duren is valuing that, nor does he have to.
"He may get to a spot and say, you know what, I'm taking a qualifying offer," Green continued. "And then he's a free agent, and you can go get the money wherever you want to go get the money. I don't know that that's the best situation for anybody. I think when you get drafted to certain situations, it's just a little different. You're handled differently. It ain't the same when you going from that place.
"That was one of the things about [Jonathan Kuminga]," Green added. "They're like, 'Oh, we want to get him traded out of there.' Like yeah, I understand things ain't going great, but when you do that, you no longer have the covering of whoever's in that organization that feels great that you got drafted there and want you to succeed. That's gone. And so Jalen Duren has to be aware of that if you press that button."
Jonathan Kuminga , who just signed a two-year, $12.4 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves , is indeed a great example of what Green was referring to. The Warriors had selected Kuminga with the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. That partnership never quite worked, but team owner Joe Lacob continued to believe in his selection and kept him around for years.
The Warriors and Kuminga only parted ways in February 2026 as he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks . Now, the Hawks had given up Kristaps Porzingis to acquire him, but they had no loyalty to him. They hadn't drafted Kuminga and declined their $24.3 million team option for 2026-27 and let him hit the market.
The Hawks abandoned that experiment in just a matter of months. Teams will give their own picks opportunity after opportunity to succeed, but if they brought you in from elsewhere, they won't hesitate much to cut ties.
In Duren's case, the Charlotte Hornets selected him with the No. 13 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. His rights were then traded to the New York Knicks and later to the Pistons.
Duren has spent his entire four-year career with the Pistons, and this last campaign was his best. The 22-year-old averaged 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game in 2025-26, and was rewarded for his play with All-Star and All-NBA Third Team honors. This usually gets you a bumper contract, but he struggled massively in the playoffs and has cost himself millions.
Duren is still seeking over $40 million annually, but the Pistons are in the $35 million range . If the two sides can't agree on terms, he might end up taking the one-year, $9.6 million qualifying offer to become an unrestricted free agent in 2027. Green hopes Duren doesn't, and he expects the Pistons to eventually give him the deal he wants.
"Ultimately, I think he's back with the Pistons on the deal that he wants, and everybody's happy, and he's making big money, and they're succeeding for years," Green said. "That's what I think is going to happen. That's what I hope going to happen. But you got to wait and see."
We will indeed just have to wait and see. Here's hoping the two sides agree on a deal and continue this partnership.
