The New York Knicks recently signed wing Mikal Bridges to a four year/$150 million contract extension, which could be the eventual outcome for the Detroit Pistons and Ausar Thompson.
Bridges and Thompson are much different players at this point in their respective careers, but Bridges started out as a defensive wing who was not a prolific scorer, much like Thompson is now.
In fact, Thompson averaged more points in each of his first two seasons than Bridges did in his, even though Bridges came into the league as a more polished shooter.
Thompson is not eligible for an extension until next summer, but when you look at the financial path Bridges took to get to where he is now, it will likely be similar to the one in front of Ausar Thompson and the Pistons.
Ausar Thompson: Locking up a two-way wing for the long term
Every team in the NBA is on the hunt for two-way wings, especially ones who are elite defenders as Bridges once was (he’s still good, but not as good) and Thompson currently is.
Bridges was All-Defense 1st team in his 4th season and came in 2nd in the DPOY voting, accolades that should be coming Ausar Thompson’s way as soon as next season. Thompson may not be that high in the DPOY voting, but I wouldn’t be at all shocked if he ended up on the All-Defensive team.
Bridges is more of a 3-and-D scorer on offense while Thompson is more of a cutter who gets garbage points off offensive rebounds and in transition. Whether he develops more to his offensive game will likely be the difference in whether he gets a max deal or ends up on a similar financial trajectory as Bridges.
Bridges signed a four year/$90 million rookie extension with the Suns, which is probably the baseline for what Ausar will get next summer.
Bridges has now tacked another four years and $150 million to the deal, which will keep him in New York at least through the 2029-2030 season, the type of long-term relationship the Pistons hope to have with Ausar.
Like Bridges, Thompson may not string together All-Star or All-NBA appearances, but two-way wings who can defend the other team’s best player are invaluable in today’s NBA, which is driven by wing play on both ends.
The Pistons know they have something special in Ausar Thompson, and if they play this right, he could spend his entire career in Detroit.