Jalen Duren signed, so draft him as the center he was last season

For the last week of September the biggest question about Jalen Duren was whether he would play at all. He and the Pistons had not agreed on a long-term deal, he missed the first week of training camp, and faced a deadline on a one-year qualifying offer that would have made him an unrestricted free agent next summer. That question is now answered. Duren agreed to a five-year, $200 million contract with the Pistons just before the deadline, which NBA.com and Hoops Rumors both reported, and the deal is fully guaranteed.

The fantasy question that remains is simpler: whether the time he missed changes what he is worth. Our projections say it does not change much. We project him for 68 games of 19.1 points and 10.9 rebounds on 65.2% shooting, which ranks 35th on our points board under ESPN's default scoring and 37th on our 9-cat board, close to the analysts' consensus of 38th and 39th. Below we set out what happened, where his value comes from in each format, and where to take him.

Every player in this story is on the fantasy basketball rankings and the 2026-27 projections, and the NBA depth charts show where each one stands in his team’s rotation tonight.