DETROIT (AP) — The lengthy negotiations between the Detroit Pistons and star center Jalen Duren didn't leave any lingering animosity, at least not in the mind of head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
Duren, an All-NBA Third Team selection last season, agreed to a five-year, $200 million contract on Thursday. There were reports during the offseason that the restricted free agent sought sign-and-trade options and even felt disrespected by the front office.
Duren, who was not made available to the media, underwent a physical and other testing on Friday and is expected to start practicing as early as this weekend. Bickerstaff brushed aside any suggestion that Duren might not be fully invested in rejoining the team.
“The most important thing for us was having JD back with us and I know JD wanted to be back,” Bickerstaff said. “All that stuff that was floating (around), we know what's real. It's a negotiating process and we went through the process and we knew he'd be back.”
Duren had little leverage, other than to sign a $9.6 million qualifying offer — which expired on Thursday night — and become an unrestricted free agent after this season. President of basketball operations Trajan Langdon repeatedly stated he had no interest in dealing his starting center.
Duren was eligible for a five-year contract worth up to $287 million but the fully guaranteed deal will still make him one of the top 10 centers in terms of annual salary.
“There's never been any bitterness between the group and how we feel about him and I know how he feels about us,” Bickerstaff said.
Duren averaged a career-high 19.5 points last season, along with 10.5 rebounds per game on 65% shooting. He struggled in the playoffs, averaging 10.2 points as the top-seeded Pistons failed to get out of the second round.
“We know how much he means to us and how important he's been for us the past couple of years and how important he'll be for us moving forward in the future,” Bickerstaff said. “That's our guy. He's been our guy and we're happy to have him back.”
Duren has ways to expand his game. He's not a perimeter threat or a prolific shotblocker (0.8 per game last season).
“He hasn't reached his ceiling, so there's no reason why we wouldn't expect him to take another step,” Bickerstaff said. "I know that's what he wants to do. He wants to continue to get better and reach greatness.”
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FILE - Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) talks with head coach J.B. Bickerstaff during the first half in Game 7 of a second-round NBA playoffs basketball series May 17, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson, File)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The NFL suspended San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York for six games Friday following his arrest earlier this year in a prostitution sting in Ohio.
The league announced that York also was fined $500,000 for violating the league's personal conduct policy. York has not attended any games or league meetings so far this season and was credited with three games served. He is eligible to return on Oct. 20, following the team's game the previous night against Washington. The NFL's fall league meetings begin that day in New York.
York said in a statement released by the team that he accepts the punishment given by the league and apologized for his actions.
“To my family, to the players, coaches, and employees of the San Francisco 49ers, to our fans and partners, I am deeply sorry,” he said. “This was an inexcusable mistake and I take full responsibility. What I did does not reflect my values or the man I strive to be for my family. While I fell short of the model I want to set for my sons, I now hope to show them the importance of owning up to one’s failures, and that even our worst moments teach us to be better. Leading the 49ers is a privilege, and one I don’t take lightly. Your trust will have to be earned back over time, and I look forward to that work ahead.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan said later Friday that he didn't believe anything would change from the operation of the team on the field over the final three weeks of the suspension. Shanahan that if he and general manager John Lynch wanted to make a major move during that time, they probably would tell York's father, John, about it, but that ownership has always deferred to Shanahan and Lynch on those decisions.
“There’s never been a situation where we’ve gone to him with a trade or anything like that and then him say no or anything like that,” Shanahan said. “If it’s something that the football people believe and think we should do, he’s always been fully supportive. So, I expect it to be no different if something like that comes up.”
York was arrested in a mobile home park by the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force after police said he was attempting to pay $160 for sex with a woman he believed to be a prostitute.
York was booked into jail and was released after posting a $5,000 bond. York was initially charged with engaging in prostitution, but prosecutors amended that to disorderly conduct. He pleaded no contest to that charge and to possessing criminal tools for using his phone to respond to an undercover online prostitution advertisement.
He was sentenced to one day in jail for both offenses to be served concurrently and was credited with one day served when he pleaded no contest. He also was fined $1,150. Police seized the $160 from York and that was later given to the human trafficking task force as part of the plea. York also completed an online course.
Owners have been previously punished for violating the personal conduct policy. The late Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was suspended for six games and fined $500,000 following a guilty plea to driving while impaired in 2014.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was investigated but not punished by the league after he was arrested in Florida in 2019 for allegedly paying for sex with a woman at a massage parlor. The charge was later dropped after a court ruled that police violated the rights of Kraft and the other customers when they secretly installed video cameras inside massage rooms at the spa.
York spent most of the summer in Ohio, where he grew up near Youngstown and had been away from the team even before his arrest. He had filed for divorce from his wife, Danielle, in May, according to court records.
York took over day-to-day control of the 49ers from his parents in 2008. He became the team’s principal owner in 2024. After some initial struggles under York’s leadership, the team has been a consistent contender since hiring Shanahan and Lynch in 2017.
The Niners have made the Super Bowl three times under York’s leadership, losing in the 2012 season under coach Jim Harbaugh and the 2019 and ’23 seasons under Shanahan and Lynch.
York also oversaw the building of Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. The team moved from San Francisco to the new stadium in 2014. The stadium has hosted two Super Bowls, a World Cup and a College Football Playoff title game.
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FILE - San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York stands on the sideline before a preseason NFL football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos, Aug. 9, 2025, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Kelley L Cox, File)
