The Detroit Pistons have yet to come to an agreement with restricted free agent Jalen Duren. With less than two weeks before training camp and the qualifying offer deadline, time is running out for the two sides to resolve the prolonged stalemate.
But Duren's wasn't the only contract negotiation the Pistons have been engaged in. Entering his fourth season in the league, Ausar Thompson was also eligible for an extension. The Pistons had the right to sign him to a new contract before the start of the season, and they seemed very eager to get a deal done.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Pistons and Thompson agreed to a five-year, $155 million, fully guaranteed contract. The $31 million per year valuation may seem like a lot at first, but given the rising salary cap and where NBA contracts are at the moment, it is a fair price for a player of Thompson's caliber.
Grading Ausar Thompson's rookie-scale extension with the Pistons
This comes on the heels of Ausar's twin, Amen, landing a five-year, $208 million extension a few weeks ago. There was some fear that the Pistons would have to get close to that annual average salary for Ausar, but that wasn't the case.
Detroit likely wanted to avoid having a similar stalemate with Thompson next summer in restricted free agency. Last offseason, they played hardball with Duren and now have to give him a more lucrative contract to have a chance at retaining him.
$31 million per year for Thompson can be considered a sweet spot. Given what he has accomplished so far in the NBA, the 23-year-old forward isn't worth that price tag. He still has to improve a ton offensively to be worth that.
At the same time, he has a chance to outplay that contract and be a team-friendly deal.
Let's say Thompson hits restricted free agency next summer. Even if he doesn't take a big step forward this season, one has to imagine that there will be teams willing to pay him over $30 million per year. The Kings, Pelicans, Clippers, Grizzlies, Nets, Bulls, Bucks, and Warriors could all potentially have a ton of cap space next offseason. One has to imagine one of these teams would be willing to give Thompson an offer sheet.
Right now, a five-year max extension is worth $239 million. This means that Thompson will be making about $17 million per year less than the maximum he could have made. In a couple of years, this could look like a bargain deal.
Earlier in the day, Keyonte George of the Utah Jazz signed a five-year, $157.5 million rookie-scale extension. He is a far less proven player, and he just emerged last season on a lottery team and has never been tested on a serious team. If he lands a contract over $30 million per year, it's difficult to say that Thompson doesn't deserve it.
In fact, this contract is exactly what I predicted for Thompson's extension back in May. In that article, I wrote that the Pistons should be willing to walk away if the annual value of the contract far exceeded $30 million. Detroit has seemingly landed at the same spot as I did.
Thompson will still need to improve his shooting, scoring, finishing, and playmaking to exceed the value of this deal. But given where he already is as a player, this contract is unlikely to be an unfavorable one for the Pistons at any point.
Grade: B+
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