The Detroit Pistons have a slew of important offseason decisions to make, and the contract status of Ausar Thompson is assuredly on Trajan Langdon’s to-do list
During his third season as a pro, Detroit Pistons wing Ausar Thompson separated himself into an elite category of defenders, potentially positioning himself as the game’s premier on-ball defender. Thompson won the Eastern Conference’s Defensive Player of the Month award twice during the regular season– first in January then again in March– and finished in third place for the Defensive Player of the Year title, still on the podium yet behind a pair of Western Conference bigs. Then earlier this week, Thompson was selected to the NBA's All-Defensive First Team to round out a stellar, impactful defensive season from AT.
Before reaching the playoffs, Thompson led in the NBA with two steals per game and ranked second with 4.3 deflections each night, but his tenacious presence at the point-of-attack carried over to the postseason as well. Though the Pistons only stuck around for two rounds, Thompson recorded 28 steals (2 per game) and 25 blocks (1.8 per game), which would be gaudy totals for most players during a four-series stretch of playoff games, but Ausar was able to reach those heights in half the time.
Although Thompson’s perimeter game needs some refinement, Pistons President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon is confident that his squad’s defensive ace will be busy in the gym this offseason in an attempt to return with a more balanced, complete two-way game.
“We won’t have as many restrictions on him this summer as he had last summer, and so he’s going to be able to go out and do some serious work,” Langdon said. “I know he’s excited about that. But you’re not going to have to worry about Ausar Thompson putting in work and competing. That’s one thing about him is he competes at a high level, he’s team-first, he’s going to put in the work and he’s going to listen to the best way he needs to put in the work. So, we’re excited with our future with him.”
That future which Langdon alluded to is likely to be a topic of discussion with Thompson during the offseason as well. Beginning on July 6, the Pistons will be able to sign Thompson to a long-term extension after just three seasons if he so chooses to stick in the Motor City instead of evaluating his options in the open market after his fourth season in the NBA. Now, the Pistons will have until the final day of the 2026 offseason to put a deal into place with Thompson’s representation, and ESPN NBA analyst Bobby Marks offered a look ahead regarding the specifics on AT’s potential long-term extension:
“Expect a deal around five years and $162 million,” Marks wrote. “It would be a slightly higher percentage of the cap in Year 1 in comparison to the contract Jaden McDaniels signed with Minnesota in 2023.”
Given that baseline, the Pistons would be paying around $30 million per season to keep one of the most versatile, impactful defenders in the NBA wearing a Detroit uniform for years to come. If Thompson can round out his perimeter shooting and at least become a threat to hit mid-range pull-ups with some degree of consistency, this contract could become one of the better value deals in the league. Of course, that would require Thompson to dial in his corner three-point shot at the very least, but as Langdon said, AT is no stranger to putting in work so he may return as an even more dynamic wing for the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
Now, the Pistons will need to address Jalen Duren's pending restricted free agency first, but don't be surprised if Detroit moves to lock up their elite defender for years to come.
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