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One NBA All-Star Clippers Must Target to Save Their Future
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- One NBA All-Star Clippers Must Target to Save Their Future
One NBA All-Star Clippers Must Target to Save Their Future
(Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images)
There is no draft pick coming to rescue the Los Angeles Clippers , so the next star has to come from somewhere else, and the best answer is Jalen Duren, who has spent all summer unable to agree on money with the Detroit Pistons.
Sam Quinn of CBS Sports wrote on X on Thursday that the Clippers are suddenly a very obvious 2027 free agency fit for Duren, with obvious motivation to overpay if Detroit cannot find a middle ground, and he is right.
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The league ruled Wednesday that the Clippers forfeit a first-round pick in every draft from 2029 through 2033, pay a $30 million fine and lose Steve Ballmer for a year and Lawrence Frank for six months.
The team says it vehemently rejects the findings , even as some think Ballmer got off light .
Why Duren Is the Right Target
Duren averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds on 65.0 percent shooting in 70 games for a Pistons team that won 60 games and finished first in the East.
He made his first All-Star team and the All-NBA third team and does not turn 23 until November.
His numbers fell to 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in 14 playoff games, but a center that young is exactly what a team without picks should chase.
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The Clippers also have little at the position since Ivica Zubac was traded to Indiana in February, and they finished 42-40 and ninth in the West. Brook Lopez, Isaiah Jackson and Yanic Konan Niederhäuser are the main options at center, and none is a long-term answer next to Darius Garland.
What It Would Cost
Tim MacMahon of ESPN reported that the Pistons are offering about $35 million a year over five seasons while Duren wants more than $40 million per year.
Cameron Salerno of CBS Sports wrote that Duren has until Oct. 1, a date that can be pushed back, to sign his $9.6 million qualifying offer, which would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer, and that Detroit has reportedly been unwilling to discuss sign-and-trades, so no deal is possible now.
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The only road is 2027 cap space, and the Clippers have about $100 million committed for 2027-28, with Garland at $44.9 million , Rui Hachimura on a team option and Bradley Beal on a player option, while Brandon Ingram would add a player option for that season once the Kawhi Leonard trade is official.
Duren also wants to stay put, telling Logan Murdock of The Ringer in April, "I think it's tough because there is a business aspect to it. Like I said, I would love to be a Piston for life. It was nothing personal."
Anthony Slater of ESPN added that the Sacramento Kings can reach max cap space next summer and are watching him too.
Why It Is Worth It
Overpaying is the price of having no other route, and future trades will lean on players, which is why a hypothetical deal sending Garland to San Antonio is already being floated.
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A 22-year-old All-NBA center who can be signed with cap space does not come along often, so if Duren takes the qualifying offer, the Clippers should clear the books and make him the biggest offer out there.
