The Detroit Pistons are still engaged in contract talks with Jalen Duren. This has put the Ausar Thompson extension negotiations on the back burner. But once Duren inevitably re-signs in Detroit, the Pistons will want to get a new deal done with their defensive star, who is eligible for an extension.
Ausar's twin brother already landed his new contract with the Houston Rockets. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Rockets and Amen Thompson have agreed to a five-year, $208 million extension, which includes a 10% trade kicker.
Over $40 million per year for Amen Thompson may seem like an overpay. As incredible as he is as a defender and an athlete, the 23-year-old is an unproven offensive player. His lack of improvement in shooting and scoring raises questions about his ceiling and whether he will ever be a net positive on that end of the floor.
But that's something the Rockets organization can worry about. The Detroit aspect of this should be more interesting for Pistons fans.
Pistons shouldn't be tricked by the Rockets' extension with Amen Thompson
For all intents and purposes, the Pistons want to sign Ausar to a long-term extension. In fact, there were reports that they see him as their second-best player over Duren. Regardless of whether this is the case, the Pistons can't take the contract the Rockets gave Amen as a blueprint in their Ausar negotiations.
Even though Amen Thompson is not a dominant offensive player, he is a much better option than Ausar on that end of the floor. Despite the Rockets guard having a higher usage rate than Ausar throughout his career, he has also been more efficient. Over the last two seasons, he had almost 60% True Shooting rate. Ausar, on the other hand, hasn't had any season where he had league-average efficiency.
Moreover, Amen has shown the ability to play point guard and be a primary creator. In Fred VanVleet's absence last season, Amen Thompson was one of the lead initiators on the Rockets. He finished the season with 18.3 points and 5.3 assists. He committed only 2.4 turnovers per game despite playing 37.4 minutes per game. The Rockets had a top-seven offense in the league when Thompson was on the floor, per Cleaning the Glass.
Ausar hasn't shown the same scoring and playmaking chops. He is a much worse finisher and shooter, as it's demonstrated by the difference in their free-throw percentages.
There is a reason Amen played over 37 minutes per game in the regular season and 44 minutes per game in the playoffs for Houston. He was an indispensable part of the Rockets' success. Ausar, on the other hand, was limited to 26 minutes per game in the regular season and 30 in the playoffs. The Pistons closed plenty of games without Ausar due to the offensive issues he creates.
So, Ausar's deal with the Pistons can't be anywhere close to what his twin brother got in Houston. In fact, Detroit would be wise to walk away if it approaches anywhere over $30 million per year.
The fear is that the Pistons may be overrating Ausar. The reports suggesting that they think he is better than Duren are concerning and have no basis in reality. Let's hope that the front office doesn't look at Amen's new contract and take it as another reason to break the bank for Ausar Thompson.
Add us as a preferred source on Google