In the offseason. the Detroit Pistons have tried to sign two players to long term contract extensions. While things went smoothly in signing small forward Ausar Thompson of San Leandro, California, the same could not be said for Jalen Duren.
On Friday according to Shams Charania of ESPN, the Pistons signed Thompson to a five-year contract worth $155 million. The announcement of this extension comes at a time when the Pistons cannot get a deal done with Duren. In our report last week, we stated that Duren was seeking a five-year contract of $200 million or more. The Pistons best offer so far has been five years, $190 million.
With Duren and the Pistons not coming to an agreement, one team that has expressed interest in Duren’s services are the Sacramento Kings. For now, Duren remains a Piston and it will be interesting to see his mindset when he takes to the court in regular season action next month.
What we do know is that the Pistons are showing a long term commitment to Ausar Thompson, who is the twin brother of Houston Rockets point guard Amen Thompson. While you could make the argument that Amen Thompson has more of an impact, and simply a better player than Ausar Thompson, the Pistons have high hopes for Ausar Thompson going forward. That was clearly announced this past week.
In 2025-26, Thompson averaged 9.9 points per game, 5.7 rebounds per game, 3.1 assists per game and two steals per game with the Pistons. He had a field goal percentage of .525, three point percentage of .250 and a free throw percentage of .571. Clearly, the biggest weakness of Thompson’s overall game is his free throw shooting. If that statistic improves, Thompson should be more of an offensive force in Detroit.
