Ausar Thompson lands $155 million rookie-scale extension with Pistons. Image via: Dylan Buell/Getty Images
The Detroit Pistons signed their 6-foot-7 forward to a five-year, $155 million rookie-scale extension, according to a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania on Thursday night. Together, the Thompson twins have become the first brothers in NBA history to each land a contract worth at least $100 million. The extension comes just weeks after Thompson’s twin brother, Amen, signed his own nine-figure deal in Houston.
Ausar Thompson has cashed in on the best season of his young career. The deal locks down one of the league’s most disruptive perimeter defenders through the back half of the decade.
Shams Charania first reported the agreement, writing that Thompson “has reached agreement on a five-year, $155 million rookie-scale contract extension. The number works out to an average salary of roughly $31 million a season, a hefty price for a player still searching for a reliable jump shot. Last season he averaged 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and a league-leading 2.0 steals a game, numbers that earned him a spot on the All-Defensive First Team and a third-place finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting. He hit just 25 percent of his threes last season, a mark that, oddly enough, was an improvement over the year before. When he’s on the floor, the Pistons have outscored opponents by 7.5 points per 100 possessions, proof that his defense alone can tilt a game.
Thompson has never been about scoring, though. Detroit’s decision to pay up now lines up with what’s happening across the league this month. His outside shot is still a work in progress.