Rumors are running rampant about the potential for 22-year-old All-Star center Jalen Duren to become available as a restricted free agent this summer. The Detroit Pistons star put together a stellar 2025-26 campaign in which he averaged 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, two assists and almost a block per game for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. He's a dynamic athlete with strong ball skills for a player of his stature and the requisite mobility to be the anchor of an elite defense.
With that said, Duren isn't a perfect fit just anywhere. Much of his success came alongside an All-NBA First-Team selection in Cade Cunningham — an elite playmaker and master with the ball in his hands who made for the perfect pick-and-roll partner. He's not much of a scoring threat outside of the paint and often leans on the concept of his team to generate second-chance buckets, dunks, and other scoring opportunities near the rim. Furthermore, Duren shrunk in the Playoffs against elite competition, as his scoring average was slashed in half and his efficiency dropped by almost 14%.
Even with room for improvement, Duren would make an excellent young starting big man on almost any team, but not every team has the infrastructure for him to be the best version of himself. With that being the case, it doesn't make much sense for the Milwaukee Bucks to leverage their own future to bring in a player whom they cannot maximize at this stage of their rebuild.
The Milwaukee Bucks don't need to chase after Jalen Duren.
In the first summer after saying goodbye to Giannis, I can understand the urgency to stack Youngtown immediately. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, the roadmap back to contention isn't a traditional one. Milwaukee won't have control of its own first-round picks until the 2030s, so tanking isn't really an option. Instead, they've shifted focus to rebuilding the culture and developing all the young talent they've acquired in recent years, including their trade haul from Miami, and doing it the old-fashioned way.
The closest thing to a coveted blue-chip prospect the Bucks got back in that deal was young center Kel'el Ware, a 22-year-old coming off a highly productive second year in the NBA. He's a versatile offensive player with prowess near the paint and a soft shooting touch to match, who struggled to carve out a role under Erik Spoelstra in Miami, but makes for the perfect project player in Milwaukee.
They also signed veteran center Myles Turner last year and are expected to retain bouncy big man Jericho Sims on a one-year player option this summer. That makes for a stacked center rotation already with three players worthy of minutes at the position.
If the Bucks were to pursue Duren, it'd likely have to be via sign-and-trade, and at this stage of their rebuild, it would be unwise to attach draft capital in any trade. Milwaukee unloaded the cupboard, building contending rosters around Giannis Antetokounmpo for almost a decade. Giving up talent and picks to a division rival would only set them back further — especially without the type of playmaker Duren needs to be the best version of himself.
While Bucks GM Jon Horst is expected to remain aggressive through free agency and trade season, that doesn't mean he's willing to leverage the future any further than he already has. It's time to slow down, make smart, forward-thinking deals, and build toward the next great era of Bucks basketball. They'll need some patience to get there, which means passing on someone like Jalen Duren in spite of his physical gifts and abilities. Patience is a virtue.
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