The Detroit Pistons drafted Ron Holland II with the 5th pick one year after choosing Ausar Thompson in the same spot.
Even though the picks were made by different front offices, the vision was clear: The Pistons wanted to put quality wing defenders around Cade Cunningham.
Big wings who can defend are the perfect archetype to put around Cunningham and potentially give the Pistons a ton of versatility on defense, as long as that's not all they do.
The problem is that Thompson and Holland can’t shoot, so having them on the floor at the same time has been difficult.
It will certainly be easier next season, as the Pistons have more shooting and we could see lineups that feature both Thompson and Holland surrounded by Cade and two shooters.
If the Pistons can use both of these guys at the same time, it creates advantages, as they can potentially put three shooters around them without giving up too much on defense.
Hopefully, we will see Thompson and Holland play more together, but if not, the Pistons will have to make a tough call.
The Pistons have until the trade deadline to figure out if Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland can work
You don’t use two top 5 picks on players in consecutive years if you don’t think they can play together, so the Pistons clearly thought this pairing was a possibility when they drafted Holland one year after Thompson.
These two could make it easy on the Pistons by improving offensively. For Thompson, that would include being more of a playmaker, attacking the rim more often, and adding a reliable shot in the floater area.
For Holland, it means knocking down corner 3-point shots at a higher rate and offering something on offense other than fast break points.
If either of these things happen, then it will be easy to see a future when the Pistons play both of their defensive wing standouts at the same time, but barring that, they will have to choose one.
Holland’s salary is set to jump up to $11.5 million after next season, which is a hefty amount for a bench defender who isn’t playable in the postseason.
If one of them has to go, it will be Holland, and it will likely happen at the trade deadline before that increased salary kicks in.
That doesn’t mean that Thompson and Holland both have to have breakout offensive seasons to work, but there have to be signs those days are coming, as the Pistons would love it if they could play two big defensive wings next to Cunningham more often.
But the clock is ticking, so the first half of the season will be important for the Pistons’ toughest pairing.
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