'Twas the night of Oct. 1, and all through the Pistons' house,

Nobody was sleeping, not even a mouse.

Two hundred mil sat there, fully guaranteed,

And Jalen's like "nah, I'm good, thanks, I'll read."

Trajan Langdon's just sitting there, sweating like crazy,

leaking info to Shams every 4 seconds, it’s getting hazy.

Training camp started and Jalen's not there,

Empty locker. Just vibes. And a very sad chair.

Then the Kings and the Bucks pop in like "hey bro,

Wanna come hoop with us? We got money, you know."

And Detroit goes "NO" and slams the door shut,

Like a guy guarding his only good big man in a rut.

Like "we're good, we've got Bball Paul," said with a strut.

Bball Paul outplayed Jalen in the playoffs, no cap,

Cade's eating kale and telling us all to relax.

Ausar got his bag and Jalen's all "uh, hello?"

Even Drummond's hairy shoulders are like "bro, let it go."

The QO deadline's here and the $9.6M's just sitting there,

With a no-trade clause, which is wild, I swear.

Nobody's ever signed it and made All-NBA,

So Jalen's about to do something goofy today.

The weight clause got cut, so that's at least something,

But Pistons fans are still panicking over nothing.

Our entire season's story starts with one guy's pen,

Please end this thing, we are begging again.

Today is the deadline for Duren and the QO so we will finally be reaching a conclusion to this whole thing one way or another. Thank god we will be done with all this very soon!

I would much rather pay Kat the 200m than this bum Jalen Duren

As the summer-long standoff between Jalen Duren and the Detroit Pistons nears its likely end, one major obstacle to a possible deal has been removed.

Per league sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity as negotiations continue, the weight clause initially proposed as part of the Pistons’ five-year, $200 million offer is no longer part of the talks. The clause was never put in writing. That $200 million offer, which Duren has thus far not accepted, is fully guaranteed and includes no weight-related provisions.

SHIP EMMMMMMMMMMMMM

there's a video with the quote in the article.

while a lot has changed since last year, remember we have not heard a single word from jalen duren throughout this whole process.

the agent's only leverage has been to use the media to convince the world he is willing to walk. the only date that matters has always been 10/1, the deadline to sign the QO.

now that he has been offered 5/200 there is no money argument for signing the QO, even if that argument was pretty horrible from the start. now the literal only lever the agent can pull is appealing to duren's emotional state. that is, appealing to the emotional state of someone we (including trajan!) have not heard from.

i seriously hope trajan does not cave. this is just a brazen attempt from the agent to squeeze the pistons for everything he can get.

Pistons fans PLEASE block clickbait hacks like Evan Sidery and Amick who have no sources in the building.

If you need people to follow, Omari Sankofka and Ku Kahil do much better journalism and actually work closely with people in the Pistons front office

But in a side-by-side comparison of the next five years, Duren would make just $1.2 million less by signing the qualifying offer than by heading elsewhere on a four-year max, compared to staying in Detroit on this current offer. Duren seems confident he’ll be able to make back nearly all of the long-term money that he’d miss out on this season by not accepting the $200 million deal.

If Duren went that route, it would be clear that this falling-out was never just about the finances.

As far as accepting the $200 million contract, security would obviously be the biggest benefit here, ensuring his financial future over the next five seasons is stable. The downside for Duren, however, would be the Pistons’ ability to ship him at any point after Jan. 15.

If Detroit extends the deadline, there could be a scenario where Duren misses preseason and regular-season games if both sides are unable to decide on a new contract — though that’d seem extremely unprecedented and unlikely considering Duren’s regular-season production. As things stand, the Pistons have shown a reluctance to even engage in discussions around sign-and-trade packages for Duren.

Duren would be the first player in league history to accept the qualifying offer the season after an All-NBA and All-Star selection since the league introduced restricted free agents and qualifying offers in the 1999 collective bargaining agreement. Former Detroit player Greg Monroe is one of the more recent examples of a player who accepted the qualifying offer with the Pistons in 2014 and signed a max deal with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2015.