Pistons Commit $155 Million to All-Defensive Star Ausar Thompson

Ausar Thompson averaged 9.9 points last season.

Detroit just committed $155 million to him.

And that tells you almost everything about how unusual Thompson's value is.

This isn't a contract built around scoring.

It's a bet that one of the NBA's most disruptive young defenders can be valuable enough at one end of the floor to justify a major long-term investment while the other end continues to develop.

Last season provided a compelling argument.

Thompson averaged an NBA-leading 2.0 steals per game, earned All-Defensive First Team honours and finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

He did it at 23.

For Detroit, that matters.

The Pistons aren't hoping Thompson eventually becomes an elite defender. He already is one.

The question attached to this $155 million contract is how much more he can become.

Offensively, there is still a sizeable gap.

Thompson averaged 9.9 points and 3.1 assists last season while shooting 52.5% from the field, but the headline percentage hides one of the biggest limitations in his game.

He attempted only 24 three-pointers across 73 games and made six of them.

That's 25.0%.

His free-throw shooting also fell to 57.1%.

In a league increasingly built around spacing, paying an average of $31 million per season to a non-shooting perimeter player is a fascinating commitment.

But Thompson isn't a normal non-shooter.

He can affect games without having plays called for him.

He creates transition opportunities with steals, attacks the offensive glass, cuts without the ball, defends multiple positions and can be trusted with some of the most difficult perimeter assignments in basketball.

That gives Detroit something extremely difficult to find.

The Pistons also don't necessarily need Thompson to become a 20-point scorer for this contract to work.

If his defence remains elite and he develops enough offensively that opponents can no longer exploit his lack of shooting, his overall value could rise significantly without a dramatic change to his scoring average.

Even a respectable perimeter shot would change the equation.

That's the bet.

Detroit is paying for the defender Thompson already is while betting on the offensive player he might still become.

And his age makes that gamble easier to understand.

Thompson is entering only his fourth NBA season. Five years of additional control gives Detroit the opportunity to keep him through what should be a significant portion of his prime.

It also strengthens the young core the Pistons have been building.

Cade Cunningham can drive the offence.

Thompson can anchor the perimeter defence.

Those roles don't need to look remotely similar for both players to be fundamental to Detroit's future.

There is still genuine risk in guaranteeing this much money to a player whose shooting remains such an obvious limitation.

NBA playoff basketball has a habit of finding weaknesses and repeatedly attacking them.

Thompson's challenge over the next few seasons is making sure his offensive limitations don't give opponents an easy answer to everything he provides defensively.

But Detroit has made its position clear.

It isn't waiting for the jump shot before deciding whether Ausar Thompson is part of its future.

$155 million says he already is.

LEAN EDGE VERDICT: Detroit isn't paying Ausar Thompson $155 million because it expects him to become a traditional offensive star. It's paying one of the NBA's best young defenders and betting that his offensive game will develop enough to complement an already exceptional defensive impact. The 25.0% three-point shooting and 57.1% free-throw shooting make this a significant commitment, but Thompson led the NBA in steals, made All-Defensive First Team and finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting at just 23. If the offence takes even a meaningful step forward, this contract could look very different a few years from now.