We are now less than a week away from the 2023 NBA Draft and the it’s still anyone’s guess what the Detroit Pistons are going to do with the 5th and 31st picks.
Rumors are now flying, with some claiming the Pistons could trade the 5th pick for a more established player, while others saying they might try to move back to pick up more assets.
If they do keep the pick, they will likely choose from a group of dynamic forwards that includes Cam Whitmore, Jarace Walker, Amen Thompson or Ausar Thompson.
The latter player, Ausar Thompson, may have already gotten a commitment from some team, though it’s not likely the Detroit Pistons.
Detroit Pistons: Did Ausar Thompson get a commitment?
According to several reports, Ausar Thompson cancelled his individual workout with the Indiana Pacers, who own the 7th pick.
This could just mean that Thompson has shown enough and doesn’t want to risk further workouts with teams that have already seen him play in some setting and have interviewed him at the NBA Draft Combine.
It could also mean that Ausar got an indication of interest from one of the teams choosing ahead of the Pacers, which would include the Detroit Pistons.
The Houston Rockets are reportedly interested in Cam Whitmore and Amen Thompson with the 4th pick, but if they do indeed land James Harden, a more defensive-minded player like Ausar might make sense.
Ausar Thompson is also a nice fit on the Detroit Pistons, who need more athleticism and defense on the wing. He’d slot in nicely next to Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey and would allow them to move Bojan Bogdanovic to the power forward or to another team in a trade.
Ausar would be a nice fit on the Orlando Magic, who also have young scoring stars in place and could use a guy who can make an impact defensively without needing the ball much.
Thompson has not had an individual workout with the Pistons, so it seems unlikely that he would have gotten any kind of commitment from them, so if I had to guess, I’d say the Magic are the team most likely to have communicated that kind of interest to Thompson’s team.
Or he could just be sick of working out and think he’s shown enough. We will know in less than a week.