The man of the moment speaks.
Jalen Duren has granted his first interview after a summer that was quite eventful due to his contract extension.
Following intense negotiations, he agreed to a new deal for four years and 200 million dollars to stay tied to Trajan Langdon’s project.
“I am a Detroit Piston,” Duren said.
“I want to be a Pistons lifer. I want to give my all for this city and for these fans. On my part they will have everything I have. They will receive all I can offer. And I want this city to know what we are building,” he explained.
“I truly believe in the teammates I have, in the coaches and in this franchise. I want you to believe in me and in my work ethic. And I want to grow as a person and as a player,” he added.
Duren has also exercised self-criticism this summer and has analyzed how his playoff performance lined up, well below the high expectations set during the regular season.
“It has been quite a humility lesson,” he acknowledged.
“I simply need to improve. I need to improve for my teammates and for this team. I watched a lot of my videos all summer. It was about getting to know myself, facing reality, and looking in the mirror and telling myself: I am man enough to admit my flaws and to admit that I am not perfect. I am also capable of going to the gym, working on those aspects, and getting better. I am not trying to run from anything. I am not running away from what happened, nor from my current situation. Because I know I will achieve great things in the future,” he emphasized.
