Jalen Duren's upcoming extension should heavily influence Walker Kessler's

Walker Kessler may have missed the majority of the 2025-26 season, but he is still one of the best big men about to hit the market this summer, even if it's restricted free agency. Among the few big men who are considered better than Kessler is Jalen Duren. He too is restricted, but he's younger, and he just made an All-NBA team.

The NBA announced it's All-NBA teams. *Shockingly*, no one on the Jazz roster made it, but Duren did, as he was more or less the Detroit Pistons' second-in-command in their best season in almost two decades.

This is actually important, as this means Duren's next contract could be even larger thanks to his All-NBA selection.

This could have ramifications for Kessler's upcoming free agency, as Duren may set the standard for what Kessler would want. Even though all indications are that Kessler will return to Utah, earlier intel suggested he's ready to get down and dirty with the front office this offseason.

If Duren gets paid top dollar for his services, that's something Kessler will definitely use in negotiations.

But will Duren get paid that much?

For exact clarity, Duren made an All-NBA team because he had an excellent regular season. Across the board, he was awesome this season. In 70 games, he averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 65% from the field. It's not debatable that he deserved this and his All-Star Game nod.

The playoffs were a different story, though. He averaged 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 51.4% from the field. His struggles played a part in why the Pistons were down 3-1 in the first round, which was a miracle that they managed to come back from, and then fell at the hands of old friend Donovan Mitchell.

He was so bad that Detroit opted to play ex-Jazz target Paul Reed over him. Not only that, but Reed was clearly proving to be the better option.

Times like those should make teams like Detroit ponder what the best move is going forward with Duren. A talented player yes, but when push came to shove, he had a pretty disastrous postseason especially with what was at stake for him this offseason.

So yes, Duren may very well impact Kessler's price tag, but that may or may not be a good thing. On the one hand, Detroit may pay him what Keith Smith outlined above, which Kessler will definitely use as a bargaining chip. On the other, the Pistons may try to get him on a discount, which could hurt Kessler.

He could also say, "Look at how much they paid him despite how bad he was! You won't see that from me!" There are simply so many ways Kessler could use Duren's contract situation, whether it hurts or strengthens his leverage.

Of course, Kessler has no playoff experience, so he can't really compare to Duren, but if the latter gets paid before the former - which is likely since the Jazz will want to use their cap space first before paying Kessler - it could be a major factor in what the former's contract will look like.

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