The Houston Rockets may have just made the Ausar Thompson contract extension considerably more interesting for the Detroit Pistons.
Houston officially signed Amen Thompson to a five-year, $208 million rookie extension Thursday, locking up the No. 4 pick from the 2023 NBA Draft through 2031-32. His twin brother, Pistons forward Ausar Thompson, was selected exactly one pick later and has been eligible for his own rookie extension since July.
And yes, you can safely assume Ausar’s representatives noticed that number. Detroit almost certainly did, too.
The Rockets officially announced Amen’s extension after a season in which he averaged 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists while playing 79 games. His new contract averages $41.6 million annually.
That does not mean Ausar Thompson is suddenly worth $208 million.
It does mean the negotiating landscape just changed.
The Twins Are an Obvious Comparison, but Not an Equal One
Back in May, ESPN salary-cap expert Bobby Marks projected Ausar could receive approximately five years and $162 million, a number we examined when Thompson first became extension eligible.
That works out to $32.4 million annually, or $9.2 million less per season than Amen’s new deal.
There is a basketball reason for the difference.
Ausar averaged 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists last season. His value comes primarily from the other end of the floor, where he developed into one of the NBA’s most disruptive perimeter defenders. His NBA profile reflects a player who still has considerable offensive room to grow.
Detroit already knows what it has defensively. Thompson earned First Team All-Defensive honors and finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting, a leap that changed how the Pistons could build the rest of their roster.
The question is how much Detroit should pay today for the offensive player it hopes Thompson eventually becomes.
Amen’s Deal Gives Ausar’s Side a Very Convenient Number
This is where things get fun.
Ausar and Amen are twins. They entered the league together. They went fourth and fifth in the same draft. They are both elite athletes, high-level defenders and important pieces for contenders.
Agents tend to enjoy comparisons like that.
Front offices tend to enjoy pointing out the differences.
Amen has already developed into a much larger offensive piece for Houston. Ausar has not. Detroit can reasonably argue that $208 million prices in production that Ausar simply has not shown yet.
Ausar’s camp can counter with upside, elite defense and the possibility that locking him in now becomes a bargain if his offensive game improves.
The Ausar Thompson Contract Extension Clock Is Already Running
Thompson is scheduled to make $11,117,925 this season in the final year of his rookie contract before reaching restricted free agency in 2027 if no extension is completed, according to Spotrac’s contract breakdown.
That gives Detroit incentive to settle this before another season of development potentially pushes the price higher.
There is also the Jalen Duren problem.
Detroit is already trying to finish one expensive negotiation with a young foundational player. Duren’s unresolved restricted free agency means Trajan Langdon has to think about more than whether Ausar deserves a raise. He has to determine how much of Detroit’s long-term payroll should be committed to Cade Cunningham, Duren and Thompson at the same time.
The Rockets did not determine Ausar Thompson’s value Thursday.
They did something almost as important.
They gave his side a $208 million number to put on the table.
