As the Detroit Pistons' saga with Jalen Duren wears on, the chances of him moving to the Sacramento Kings next offseason get higher. There's a very real scenario where that happens, but the Kings haven't been able trade Domantas Sabonis. That could create huge rotational issues.
In case you've been ignoring the Pistons, they are having problems locking their star center's new contract down. The issue is money. To be more specific, Detroit doesn't want to pay Duren what he believes he's worth. The crazy part is that the two sides really aren't that far apart at this point.
According to reports, Duren is asking for roughly $200 million over five years while the Pistons are offering approximately $190 million over five years. That's a difference of $2 million per year, which isn't that much in NBA terms. It doesn't seem like this should be an insurmountable number.
The Kings' "Duren/Sabonis Scenario"
Keep in mind that Duren is eligible for a $287 million contract extension, so he's ostensibly offering to take $87 million less than he could be pushing for. The problem is that this has become an issue of respect between the team and the player, meaning neither side is willing to budge anymore.
As training camp gets closer, it's seeming more and more likely that Duren will sign a one-season qualifying offer that will make him an unrestricted free agent who may be signed by the Kings. At the same time, there are no guarantees Sabonis will be gone by then.
The impending departures of De'Andre Hunter and Zach LaVine will create more than enough cap space to sign Duren with Sabonis still on the roster. If that does happen, the Kings are going to have to decide who is the starting center and who is the secondary.
The ripple effect on the Kings' roster
With both Sabonis and Duren at center, there is a direct impact on the minutes Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell should be getting. Sabonis and Raynaud can play power forward, but that would then change the usage of everyone at that position, particularly a rookie like Alex Karaban.
In scenario where the Kings end up with both Sabonis and Duren, even if it's only for a short period of time, the entire depth chart and all rotations become an absolute mess. The problem is that the Kings may not have a choice. Duren is available when he's available, whether Sabonis gets traded or not.
To be fair, a rather specific series of events have to happen for this situation come up. But it's not as far outside the realm of possibilty as you might think it is. If the Sabonis/Duren Scenario does happen in Sacramento, the front office has to be ready to makes some really hard choices.
