We don't need to go into what the Los Angeles Clippers' future looks like after the NBA cracked down on the organization following the release of the investigation's findings on the cap circumvention scandal. You already know it's... not that great. So why not try to be at least a little positive and look ahead to the players who need to be on LA's radar, like Jalen Duren?
The Pistons center is currently a restricted free agent, with a looming deadline of Oct. 1 to accept his $9.6 million qualifying offer. Duren reportedly wants more than $40 million a year, so with training camp a few weeks away, he and Detroit remain in a stalemate.
Taking his qualifying offer would be extremely risky, given that ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported the Pistons offered him a five-year deal worth $35 million annually, which would leave a lot of money on the table. Duren could have an incentive to do so, though, and that incentive is Sacramento.
On the Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective podcast last week, ESPN's Anthony Slater highlighted how the Kings can have max cap space next summer with Zach LaVine's deal going off the books. He added that Sacramento GM Scott Perry "has Jalen Duren's name in highlighter pen, looking at next year's potential free agency."
Clippers would love for Duren to hit free agency next year
If Duren and his camp refuse to budge in negotiations with the Pistons, and the center is set on getting the money he believes he deserves, he could decide to set himself up to do that next summer with the Kings as an unrestricted free agent.
That would give the Clippers a window to pitch Duren, selling him on playing in one of the world's largest media markets and helping revitalize an organization. You might be wondering why he'd willingly sign with Los Angeles, especially after what it's been through, but it could all come down to money.
If Duren doesn't agree to a deal with Detroit, it will mean that he values getting his money over winning, and Los Angeles can give him what he's looking for with its cap flexibility (it can have $50 million in cap space next offseason). And by the time next summer rolls around, the Clippers could have added to their draft assets in a series of trades, making their loss of five first-round picks look more manageable. Maybe the league will have even returned one?
Duren will be 23 in November, so he's young, and even better, he's coming off an All-NBA and All-Star season. Yes, his numbers fell in the playoffs, but again, he's still young. He might not be worth a max contract, but that doesn't mean he's not worth investing in.
The Clippers should consider doing that next offseason if Duren bets on himself and hits free agency next summer. He might do so, thinking he will end up in Sacramento, a team he met with in free agency this summer, but that wouldn't stop Los Angeles from swooping in.
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