The Detroit Pistons have started the 2026-27 season spectacularly, but they have not exactly avoided the ever-tricky terrain of injuries. The latest to suffer one? Jalen Duren.
The centre, who recently signed a $200 million contract extension, will be sidelined for at least two weeks with a strained right hamstring, according to an official statement from the Michigan franchise.
As could be seen live, the injury occurred during the first half of Friday’s game against the Miami Heat, in which Duren was only able to play 10 minutes before leaving the match. This is how his coach, J.B. Bickerstaff, explains how he feels about it.
“It’s tough to lose a player who means as much to us as JD. It’s difficult. It’s hard for him, especially when he was still coming back and adjusting at the start of the season. Valuable days are being lost. It’s undoubtedly a difficult situation for us”, the coach stressed, who also could not count on Ausar Thompson in the win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Jalen Duren, marked by negotiations
That’s right. Throughout the summer the centre went through a constant tug of war with the Michigan organisation, as they negotiated his contract extension right up to the deadline. He eventually signed, but by then he had already missed media day and several pre-season training sessions. Despite this, he had looked genuinely good in the early regular-season games until suffering the aforementioned injury.
(Photograph by IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)