The NBA Draft Lottery is still almost three weeks away, and while I hate to dash those sugar-plum-visions dancing in each of our heads about Victor Wembanyama, there is a very dark and unpleasant timeline where we find ourselves in a universe sorting what to do with a pick other than the first overall. Perhaps even, that nightmare scenario where the Detroit Pistons plummet all the way to #4, and have some really tough decisions.
It’s hard to project where the Thompson-twins will get selected with mock drafts beginning to come out with greater regularity, and while one of them could conceivably climb into the top three, the long-running consensus has been that Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller are the most likely to join Wembanyama there. The point is, the Detroit Pistons, for whatever reason, may find themselves emerging from this draft with one of the Thompson-brothers, be it Amen or Ausar.
And while there’s no denying that if they do so, it’ll likely be at least somewhat of a disappointment for those of us still hoping Santa Claus brings us a superstar, it may not be such a bad thing. Let’s get into which of the two is the better fit for Detroit basketball.
Detroit Pistons draft: Better fit, Amen or Ausar Thompson?
Amen and Ausar Thompson are identical twin brothers who just turned 20 years old and spent last season playing ball with the Overtime Elite. While their genetics may be nearly indecipherably different from one another’s, their play on the court does give us a little bit to parse and debate.
Amen is the better shooter, and therefore was usually the first to go in mock drafts, but over the course of the season Ausar gained some traction and began to occasionally find himself the first brother taken in such exercises. With the NBA season concluded, and some better clarity on which team will be picking when, who goes first seems to usually come down to fit. With that being the case, which of the two extremely talented young men would be a better fit with the Detroit Pistons?
Detroit Pistons draft: The case for Amen Thompson over brother Ausar
Amen Thompson is a better playmaker than his brother, which you’d expect given their respective positions. The fact is, they’re each exceptional athletes capable of getting numbers, but Amen has been getting props for his ability to distribute the basketball for awhile now. Some of that is attributed to his elite ball-handling, and while he may not be Isiah Thomas or Kyrie Irving in that regard, he still has the rock on a string. His playmaking is said to come naturally, ala another set of brothers in Lonzo and LaMelo Ball. The comparisons don’t stop there either, at least with Lonzo, as Amen’s outside shooting – and even his shooting form – are concerning.
Amen knocked down a quarter of his 2.7 3-point attempts per game, and that’s tough to swallow from a would-be combo guard even if he ultimately spends the majority of his time at the point. Before you brush that off and chalk it up to youth, be aware that he barely knocked down 50 percent of his free-throw attempts. There is definitely work to be done with his shot, and that’s disconcerting when you’re talking about using up draft collateral the likes of the 4th overall pick.
On the other end of the court, there are no real questions. At 6-foot-7 and a shade over 200 pounds, Amen is firmly in the skinny athlete who needs to do some bulking up category, but as a perimeter player he should be able to get by from day one.
Amen profiles as a boom-or-bust prospect, whose game is more likely to lend itself to stardom than quality role player. The ceiling is high, the floor could well be – out of the league. As he is a backcourt player, it’s also tough to see where he fits on a roster that has both Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey. But some would make room for Scoot Henderson given the opportunity to in a similar dilemma, presumably by parting with Ivey. Would it not be, arguably, worth doing so for Amen, as well? If Amen projects as the better fit alongside Cade than Ivey is, and if he’s also viewed as having a higher ceiling than Ivey does, than you have probably made your case for selecting Amen over Ausar, and continuing to swing for the superstar fences as Troy Weaver has done from day one.
Detroit Pistons draft: The case for Ausar Thompson over brother Amen
Now, on to Ausar. Some have said he’s the less athletic brother of the two, but in my mind that’s like saying that Coke isn’t as sweet as Pepsi (it isn’t, but it’s plenty sweet). Ausar will author plenty of his own highlights and frequently get people jumping out of their seats with the athleticism he does have. And while this point may be debatable, the long-running narrative around him is that he has a high floor – sort of the opposite of his brother, somewhat a rarity for the two.
Although Amen is a natural at the point, Ausar is no slouch when it comes to passing the basketball. In fact, he’s good at it. Neither initiating the offense nor adjusting on the fly are strengths, but he’s still a high IQ player capable of making some spectacular plays. He can read the floor. He has shooting mechanics issues, same as his brother, and it’s a part of his game that must develop. Hard to be the proverbial 3-and-D guy without the 3, although he flashed progress in this regard later in the year. His midrange pull-up game is also weak – he could certainly stand a few pointers from Cade here.
Defensively, he’s a star in the making. He’s great on or off the ball, excellent on the perimeter, switchy, and capable of becoming a problem in the front court too once he gets stronger. He’s already a good rebounder.
Amen has the higher ceiling, but if what Weaver favors is a player with greater versatility and who can make a wider array of contributions to the team, especially defensively, Ausar is hard to argue with. That said, the phrase “historically bad” was often used to describe the Pistons defense last season.
CONCLUSION
Well, it depends. If Weaver remains committed to Ivey and sees him as part of the backcourt of the future, Ausar is the twin to add to the mix. If Weaver sees Amen as being superior to Jaden, and wants to try his luck with a guy who has been said to have superstar upside, the case for Amen is made.