Jalen Duren agrees to re-sign with Detroit for five years, $200 million

After a summer of drama, Jalen Duren and the Detroit Pistons have agreed to stay together, but scars will remain and need to heal.

Just a couple of hours before the qualifying offer deadline, Duren agreed to the often-reported latest offer from the Pistons of five years, $200 million, reported Shams Charania of ESPN and NBA insider Chris Haynes . The deal is a straight five years, with no team or player options, and is fully guaranteed.

Duren is coming off a breakout season where he averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game and served as the Pistons' defensive anchor in the paint, and with that, he was both an All-Star and All-NBA player. Because he made an All-NBA team, Duren was eligible for up to five years, $287 million. However, Duren cost himself a lot of money when he struggled on both ends of the court during the playoffs — he averaged 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, had a negative plus/minus, and by the end of the series against the Cavaliers was losing minutes to backup center Paul Reed.

Combine that with the Pistons looking at how the luxury tax aprons are hitting other top teams, and they wanted to keep Duren well below his max. It led to a long summer of drama. Detroit started the summer lowballing Duren with an offer in the low- to mid-$30 million-a-year range, which was tough negotiating by Detroit in a summer when other, less proven centers were getting paid. Duren's ultimate leverage is taking the $9.6 million qualifying offer, and the fact he dragged this out until just a couple of hours before the deadline showed how seriously he considered it.

It may have taken most of the summer, but eventually the Pistons got to a five-year, $200 million offer (and took a ridiculous weight clause off the table). Duren eventually signed the deal.

Now Duren is reunited with Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson on a Pistons team that won 60 games last season and wants to take a step forward this season. The Pistons — who also signed Thompson to a five-year, $155 million contract extension this summer — have locked up their core. Now that core has to prove it can take the next step forward.