After what was one of the dumbest storylines of the entire offseason finally came to an end, Jalen Duren decided against taking his qualifying offer and instead opted to take the $200 million he was being offered by the Detroit Pistons.
It was the restricted free agents that lasted deep into the summer. Jonathan Kuminga, while not a restricted free agent in the classical sense, spent far longer than expected, only to sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Bennedict Mathurin, the former Indiana Pacer, asked to have his qualifying offer revoked to get to a better situation in New Orleans, and now Duren, after months and months of hating the team that he had become an all-star on, decided that he would, in fact, prefer to take his nine-digit salary offer.
It's weird: despite being such a massive disappointment in the playoffs this past year, Duren may still be worth that $50 million a year, largely because of the lack of available centers.
Some may argue that Duren is overvalued, but the truth remains that you are what the market says you are worth. By that logic, the Pacers got a decidedly below market deal on their on the acquisition of their gap year, Ivica Zubac.
Nailing a franchise-altering deal
The Pacers traded Isaiah Jackson, two first-round picks, a second rounder, and the aforementioned Mathurin to bring in the Croatian center, taking a team weakness and transforming it into a strength.
Indiana was trying to play with house money by simultaneously trading away their pick in the midst of their tanking season and bringing in a veteran star. While the gamble didn't work out perfectly after the Pacers lost the fifth overall pick to the Los Angeles Clippers on lottery night, it still feels like Indiana got the better of this deal.
It's obviously helpful to the optics of the deal that the Clippers have had one of their first-round picks revoked from the deal, and as such, the only remaining assets on the team are Isaiah Jackson, Keaton Wagler, and that unimportant second-rounder.
While the Pistons eventually had to renege on past proposed pay cuts and sign Duren to that massive contract, the Pacers are now paying Zubac just about 20 million a year. That is functionally half as much money per year for a player who is decidedly better and has proven to be a playoff riser.
There's a big difference between trading for a player and signing them outright. One requires an additional cost of assets beyond the initial scope of finances, while the other is functionally costless.
But still, even if Indiana had to give up more in a trade, they got a player on a far better contract, who offers them far more than the flawed Duren.
This dry spell in the market can also be seen with the Boston Celtics signing Mitchell Robinson. There are simply not enough big men to go around.
With this in mind, it feels like Indiana hit the jackpot in dealing for Zubac. They got an excellent player at a position of need without playing paying the premium for an asset that is no longer undervalued.
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