The Detroit Pistons still have unfinished business to complete this offseason with new contracts for Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson.
It’s the Duren deal that is holding up the process, as the Pistons would reportedly like to get his number in place before they ink Thompson.
There has been rampant speculation about which player is more important for the Pistons and how Duren might feel if they reward Thompson early after refusing to do so with him.
This is all overblown and will disappear as soon as the players get on the court, as they all realize this isn’t personal, it’s business, but the Pistons have to get them there first and they should get the ball rolling by extending Ausar Thompson, which may help make things easier with Duren.
Signing Ausar Thompson now could get the ball rolling with Jalen Duren
There may not be a deal in place for Thompson, and if there is, we haven’t heard the numbers yet, but it’s assumed it will be in the $30 million per season range.
That number goes WAY up if Thompson breaks out offensively next year, so the Pistons would be smart to lock him in now if he’ll take a number in that range, otherwise they risk having to do this all again next summer.
They can then go to Duren with a slightly larger deal, and the little ego inflation of paying him more than his teammate to reward him for his All-NBA season.
In an ideal world, Thompson signs for around 5/150 and Duren for 5/175, especially if they can front load those contracts, so the biggest hits come when the Pistons are still financially flexible.
These are numbers that the Pistons could not only live with but would put them in a great position.
The Pistons would still be well under the tax aprons
The Pistons are already paying Cade Cunningham a max deal, but other than that, their cap sheet might be the cleanest in the NBA.
They are nowhere near the luxury tax aprons everyone is so worried about and won’t be even if they can sign Thompson and Duren to rich extensions.
The Pistons would still be far more financially flexible than teams like the Cavaliers, Knicks, Nuggets, Magic, Timberwolves etc. In fact, as of right now, the Pistons would have the lowest payroll in the NBA, though that changes once they ink Duren and again next season when Thompson’s extension kicks in.
Most of the top teams (except the Spurs) have multiple players on max deals and at least one or two in the range the Pistons hope Duren and Thompson land in. That leaves the Pistons with a lot of room, tradable contracts and flexibility to add another star player.
This all hinges on Thompson and Duren signing this summer for numbers in the $30-35 million per season range, and the Pistons may as well get things started with Thompson if they think they can use his contract to make things easier with Duren.
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