All eyes of the NBA world are on the Detroit Pistons. OK, that's not actually true. All eyes are really on the Milwaukee Bucks, who are waiting to find out whether this new gust of trade winds around Giannis Antetokounmpo will be the one that finally blows him out of town. And that, in turn, is why the hoops world should be keeping close tabs on the Pistons.
Because they have the assets needed to acquire a megastar. They need a co-star for Cade Cunningham, too. And they just so happen to have a trade chip that might trump just about anything the Bucks are offered during the seemingly inevitable Giannis sweepstakes: 22-year-old swingman Ausar Thompson. He'd be a no-brainer building block for the Pistons in virtually any other circumstance, but when it's Giannis freakin' Antetokounmpo we're talking about, Thompson might become the unfortunate cost of doing business.
Adding Antetokounmpo might require subtracting Thompson.
Some members of the fanbase will ditch the idea of an Antetokounmpo trade right here. They'll claim Thompson's future is too blindingly bright to give up. They might even feel emboldened enough by Detroit's 17-5 start to claim the Pistons don't need Antetokounmpo.
That's their prerogative. It's also a reminder of the fanatical nature of fandom.
You don't get Antetokounmpo for a package built around Jaden Ivey and Marcus Sasser. And, no, Ron Holland II isn't a good enough sweetener, either. And your pick collection is only so valuable when there are zero external first-rounders and your own have murky-at-best value coming from a team that's this good and this young.
So, yeah, it'll take Thompson to get Antetokounmpo. Maybe a lot more than him, too. When Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press recently pitched an idea to bring Antetokounmpo to the Motor City, the Pistons' all-in price was Thompson, Isaiah Stewart, Tobias Harris, four first-round picks and three first-round pick swaps.
That sounds a bit rich from this perspective, but the real key is Thompson. Dangle him, and you should have Milwaukee's attention. Make him off-limits, and you've uninvited yourself to the bidding war.
Thompson is an elite athlete with towering potential as a two-way playmaker. Again, he's someone you'd normally lock into the long-term plans without a second thought.
He's also an imperfect player and will be for as long as he's plagued by severe shooting limitations. His career three-point percentage sits at just 20.9. And projecting much better days ahead is tricky when he's also toting around a 60.9 percent career conversion rate from the foul line.
You don't just discard him for that flaw, but it is the kind of thing that would make you question the offensive viability of a frontcourt featuring him, Antetokounmpo (career 28.6 percent from three), and Jalen Duren (six three-point attempts, zero three-point makes in four seasons). And that's without factoring in Cunningham's regression as a long-range shooter.
Not that the Pistons have to spend too much time mentally ticking that fit, though. Because they aren't bringing in Antetokounmpo without letting go of Thompson.