The Detroit Pistons already may have a tough Jalen Duren decision to make. He’s going to be a restricted free agent this summer, and it will be up to Detroit to decide how much to pay him. Or, will it? According to a recent rumor, Duren is one of the guys that Luka Doncic may want to play with. That means the Los Angeles Lakers could try to steal him this summer.
Duren struggled mightily in the postseason this year, but he was still an All-NBA-caliber center for the Pistons last year. And now, he’s found himself directly in the Lakers’ potential line of fire.
And that could mean bad things for Cade Cunningham and the Pistons.
Lakers could try to steal Walker Kessler
Dave McMenamin of ESPN recently reported that Doncic wants the Lakers to add an A-List center this summer. That’s one of the things toward the top of his wish list.
The Lakers have already begun looking for potential targets this summer, and according to McMenamin, Duren is one of the guys LA may want to pair alongside Doncic:
“There are several restricted free agents the Lakers have already done their due diligence on, sources familiar with the team's thinking told ESPN,” McMenamin said. “Two of them, Jalen Duren of the Detroit Pistons and Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz, would satisfy Doncic's directive to secure an A-list center.”
Again, Kessler is going to be a restricted free agent this summer. Any NBA team (that can afford it) will be able to offer Kessler a contract, and he can accept it.
However, the Jazz will have 48 hours to match any deal that Kessler accepts, and during that time, the money the team offered Kessler will be tied up (they will get it back and be able to spend it if the Jazz were to match the offer).
For the Lakers, Kessler is an obvious trade target. He’s an elite defensive big man who could run the pick-and-roll with Doncic. His height and size would be a huge help to a Lakers center rotation that needs an infusion of talent.
Reports have indicated that the Jazz have given Kessler an offer of five years, $140 million. If LeBron James leaves in free agency and they dump other contracts, there’s a world where the Lakers could technically find a way to give him a little bit more than that.
At that point, the Jazz would have a very difficult decision to make.
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