Jalen Duren is ready to put a turbulent offseason behind him after agreeing to a five-year, $200 million extension with the Detroit Pistons. Speaking alongside general manager Trajan Langdon on Sunday, Duren made it clear that his commitment to the organization and city remains as strong as ever.
“The clearest message I wanna convey is that I am a Detroit Piston. I wanna be a Detroit Piston for life. I wanna give everything I got for this city and the fans,” Duren said.
“I want the city to know that I truly do believe in what we’re building. I truly do believe in the players and organization and the coaches that we have. And I want you all to believe in me and my work ethic and my ability to want to grow as a man and a player.”
Duren acknowledged that the negotiations and speculation surrounding his future were difficult, particularly as reports circulated throughout the summer.
“I would say relief and excitement, man. A lot of emotions, a lot of emotions,” he said when asked about finally reaching the other side of the process.
“Obviously I’m the one who’s frontline and being talked about and everybody’s kind of asking what’s going on, what’s this, what’s that, but my family goes through it too. They hear it too.”
The 22-year-old also pushed back against reports and narratives that he said did not come directly from him.
“Nothing came from me. So everything that was being heard was like speculation,” Duren said. “I do know that a lot of the things were false and people believe things without it coming from the source’s mouth.”
Duren said the experience ultimately helped him grow both personally and professionally.
“I think mentally, just mentally,” he said. “I think I needed this experience to kind of boost my knowledge on this game and the business side. I never looked at it as like a bad thing.”
“I feel like I’ve came out a better person, a better man. I ain’t a better player.”
Duren also admitted that the way last season ended was humbling and gave him plenty to work on.
“Personally, I would say it was humbling. I just need to get better. I need to get better for my teammates, for my organization,” he said.
“I’m also man enough to get my ass in the gym and work on those things and get better. I’m not trying to run from anything. I’m not running from what happened.”
Duren said his offseason work focused on improving his entire game rather than one particular skill.
“I think just tightening up everything, tightening up shot mechanics, working on my body first and foremost, making sure I’m in the best shape possible,” he said.
The Pistons center averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in 70 games last season, earning his first All-Star selection and third-team All-NBA honors. He now returns to a Detroit team that added John Collins, Isaiah Joe and Taurean Prince to improve its shooting and spacing around Duren, Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson.
Duren believes the changes can help the Pistons take another step.
“I think we did a great job with just adding to the team and being able to expand our potential,” he said.
His focus, however, remains on doing whatever Detroit needs from him.
“I would say just creating my own shot. I would say defending at a high level, pick and roll, defending the rim at a high level,” Duren said.
“And just honestly, it’s going to sound cliche, but just doing what my team need me to do.”
“I try to be a tool that my coaches and my teammates can use to do anything. And that’s what I’ve been working on all summer.”
