Ausar Thompson needs to improve on the offensive end and this is the summer to do it, as it will be the first offseason of his career when he'll be able to work without limitations.
Because of injuries the prior two seasons, Thompson had to miss the end of his rookie year, which put limitations on his offseason. He was then dealing with blood clots that set him back and again forced the Pistons to closely monitor what he did in the offseason.
In a recent interview, Trajan Langdon talked about the potential of Thompson entering his first healthy and restriction-free offseason:
“Remember, last year, he did not play a full season,” Langdon said. “He worked through the summer, but it wasn’t like he was going to this year. We won’t have as many restrictions on him this summer as he had last year. He will be able to go out and do some serious work, and I know he is excited about it. You will not have to worry about Thompson putting in the work and competing.”
Thompson is known as a film nerd who will undoubtedly be spending time studying, but he'll also have a chance to go full blast this summer, which will hopefully include shooting 10-15 thousand 3-point shots from the corner every day.
He'll undoubtedly be working on the offensive end of his game, and a leap from Thompson on that end would solve a lot of the Pistons' problems.
Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren becomes easier if one of them can shoot
Ausar Thompson doesn't have to morph into prime Klay Thompson to bail the Pistons out of their biggest problem on offense, which is that they have two guys in the starting five who can't space the floor.
Teams were willing to back off Thompson to an absurd degree, daring him to shoot from anywhere or to drive into a crowded paint. Being able to knock down some of those shots will force the defense out, open up the lane a little more, as well as give Thompson better angles and advantages from which to attack the rim.
If Thompson could just get up to 35 percent as a 3-point shooter, it would completely change the Pistons' offense . Fans are excited by the prospect of adding a true second scorer, but even if that happens, the Pistons' biggest area of potential growth is still internal, as Thompson has a world of talent that he hasn't tapped into.
It's not just his shot, as Thompson has to tighten up his handles and get better at finishing at the rim, all things I am certain he'll be working on this summer.
Thompson is unrestricted for the first time, and given his work ethic, don't be surprised if he makes a big offensive leap next season.
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