Detroit Pistons guard Ausar Thompson (9) defends against his twin brother, Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (1) during the first half at Little Caesars Arena.
David Reginek-Imagn Images
Recently, Houston Rockets star Amen Thompson signed a new contract extension with the franchise worth $208 million over the next five years. The news comes as multiple other players around the league hope for new deals of their own, including Thompson's twin brother, Detroit Pistons wing Ausar Thompson.
Now, ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel has broken down the latest in how this new deal will impact the market.
“Jalen Duren seeing that, he's just going to go back to the Pistons and say, ‘Is my impact better than this guy? If so, you've got to pay me,'” said Siegel, per ClutchPoints on X, formerly Twitter. “…I believe that (Ausar Thompson's) extension is going to come in at much less than $40 million a year. They can't give Jalen Duren a $35 million deal plus Ausar Thompson a $40 million deal.”
Siegel added that such a scenario of shelling out huge contracts to both Thompson and Duren would “completely cripple” the Pistons' flexibility moving forward as they look to build a contender around superstar point guard Cade Cunningham.
Both Thompson twins have similar skill sets, establishing themselves as elite perimeter defenders and transition forces, while struggling to space the floor from the perimeter on the offensive end. However, Amen Thompson's superior playmaking chops make his new contract seem a bit higher than what his brother is likely to get, according to the latest intel.
The Pistons won 60 games last year and were a game away from the Eastern Conference Finals, but with the rest of the Eastern Conference improving around them, the pressure is on for Detroit to be very careful about how they build out their roster from here.