Follow us on Google Discover Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren has reportedly rejected a $200 million contract extension. Duren is eligible for a five-year, $287 million deal, but the Pistons are unwilling to meet that amount.
Duren averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in the 2024/25 regular season, earning All-Star and All-NBA Third Team selections. However, the 22-year-old’s numbers dropped to just 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in the playoffs.
Duren’s underwhelming postseason performance likely explains why the Pistons are reluctant to offer him more than $40 million annually. Most NBA fans and experts agree with the Pistons and consider Duren to be foolish for rejecting their lucrative offer.
Here are several more examples of NBA players rejecting big contract offers because they believed they were worth more. History suggests Duren should take the offer rather than risk missing out.
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The NBA stars who rejected huge contract offers
James Harden was eligible to sign a three-year, $161.1m extension with the Brooklyn Nets in 2021. However, he chose to focus on winning a championship alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving while increasing his earning potential the following summer.
Instead, the Nets never made a deep playoff run, and Harden was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers before he could secure the bigger contract he had been targeting. He then declined his $47.4m player option and signed a two-year, $68.6m deal with Philadelphia.
Nerlens Noel later sued his former agency, claiming he lost millions by rejecting a lucrative contract. He turned down a four-year, $70m deal with the Dallas Mavericks in 2017 because he believed he deserved a maximum contract.
Noel then signed a one-year, $4.1m qualifying offer, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent the following summer. Unfortunately, his value dropped significantly, and he earned only around $12m over the next four seasons.
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Victor Oladipo did not lose out on the $160m contract that was mistakenly rumoured at the time, but the Indiana Pacers still offered him a three-year, $80m extension. He was named an All-Star and earned All-NBA Third Team honours during the 2017-18 season, just as Duren has done with the Pistons.
Unfortunately for Oladipo, he suffered a serious quad injury the following season and never regained his previous form. He never earned a contract close to the $80m offer and later turned down a two-year, $45.2m extension from the Houston Rockets in 2021. Oladipo ultimately signed a one-year minimum deal with the Miami Heat.
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