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After finishing first in the East last season (60-22), the Detroit Pistons are facing an internal crisis that threatens to undo all the progress they’ve made. With Cade Cunningham, they have a star to build around, but negotiations are still ongoing with his top sidekick, Jalen Duren. The two sides have been trying to work out a deal for the better part of a year now, but they both reportedly disagree on his worth. It’s a situation that threatens to get ugly for the Pistons, but NBA insider Jake Fischer recently confirmed that this saga will likely end with Duren returning to Detroit on a four-year deal. “This time last year, I remember hearing how acrimonious it was between Josh Giddey and Chicago, and how Dyson Daniels and the Hawks were so far apart,” said Fischer. “Kuminga even gets a decent payday from Golden State. We still have about a month left for restricted free agents to come to terms with their incumbent teams. I talked with someone today who still believes he’s on track for a four-year, $160 million deal. He’s clearly gonna want something closer to what Walker Kessler got than what Mitchell Robinson got. But when all things are said and done, and he makes life-changing money, I do see an opportunity for this to get mended.” Duren fully believes that he deserves the max after helping the Pistons to the first seed with averages of 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game on 65.0% shooting last season. But after a poor performance in the playoffs, which led to the Pistons’ second-round exit, they aren’t so keen to give him what he’s after. From the team’s perspective, Ausar Thompson is actually their second-best player, and they might come to terms on his extension faster than they will with Duren’s. Nonetheless, with no other alternatives for the young big man, there is nowhere else for him to go but back to the Pistons. “The tricky aspect of all this is the messaging coming out of Detroit that the Pistons view Ausar Thompson as their second-best player, and not Jalen Duren,” added Fischer. “You don’t want to hear that if you’re Jalen Duren, and now Ausar Thompson’s extension talks will happen before the season, and he’s almost certainly going to get extended. And if that happens quickly, and this has been a year dragged out with Duren, it will be a tricky thing to monitor moving forward. There are no other situations for him, though… we’ve got a month left of it, and I don’t think it’s ending anytime soon.” With that contract, Duren would still be making roughly $40 million per year in salary, making him one of the highest-paid centers in the league. He’d be on par with players like Brandon Ingram, Michael Porter Jr., and Walker Kessler, who all play massive roles for their teams. For Duren, $160 million would fall short of his goals, but it’s more than fair given the current situation. Instead of holding out to try and squeeze out even more, he might be better off just accepting the offer now so he can start the process of rectifying his relationship with the front office. If not, things could get increasingly ugly within the organization.