Detroit locks up its best defender
Five years. $155 million. Ausar Thompson isn’t going anywhere. The Pistons wing put pen to paper on a rookie extension this week, closing the book on his future just over a week before training camp tips off.
He arrived in Detroit as the No. 5 pick in 2023 out of Overtime Elite, and it didn’t take long for him to turn into one of the league’s most disruptive defenders. Last season he put up 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists a night, adding a league-leading 2.0 steals per game. That earned him a First Team All-Defensive nod and a third-place finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
The playoffs only sharpened the picture. Across 14 games, Thompson averaged 2.0 steals and 1.8 blocks, becoming the first player since Anthony Davis in 2020 to rack up at least 25 steals and 25 blocks in a single postseason run.
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Two brothers, two nine-figure deals
The Thompson twins now share a piece of NBA history. Amen Thompson, Ausar’s brother, signed his own rookie extension with Houston this month: five years, $208 million. Between them, the twins have pulled in $363 million this offseason alone, the first brothers in league history to each land a nine-figure contract.
They made history once already, back in 2023. Houston took Amen at No. 4, Detroit grabbed Ausar one pick later at No. 5, the first twins ever drafted in the same top-10 class.
Detroit’s rebuild is starting to look real
The Pistons won 60 games last season, best in the East and the Central Division, and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2008 before a Game 7 exit against Cleveland in round two.
This offseason has been quieter on the surface. No marquee free agent signings, just steady moves: Isaiah Joe arrived in a trade with Oklahoma City for extra shooting, and John Collins signed a three-year, $51 million deal. Tobias Harris left for San Antonio, and Isaiah Stewart was dealt to Memphis. One piece is still unsettled. Jalen Duren, a restricted free agent, remains without a new deal with camp closing in fast.
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