Pistons Sign Ausar Thompson to Five-Year, $155 Million Extension

After finishing with the No. 6 seed last season and emerging as a contending team following several years of rebuilding, the Detroit Pistons continue to make investments in the young core that helped them get there. On Friday, Detroit agreed to a five-year, $155 million contract extension with Ausar Thompson, keeping one of the NBA's best defenders with the franchise for the foreseeable future.

And though his numbers aren't necessarily eye-popping on the box score, Thompson is coming off the best season of his career, averaging 11.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists while leading the NBA with 2.0 steals per game.

But numbers don't tell the full story, and that's absolutely the case with Thompson. His impact goes well beyond the box score.

Ausar Thompson Has Emerged as Elite Defender

Thompson earned All-Defensive First Team honors last season and finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting, clearly establishing himself not only as a great young defender, but one of the best defenders in the entire league regardless of age.

This is largely because of his versatility. At 6-foot-6, Thompson has the physicality and length to guard bigger players, but can also scale down and cover guards and other perimeter players because of his quick feet and athleticism.

He was great in both the regular season and postseason on that end of the floor, averaging nearly two steals and two blocks per game across 14 playoff appearances and was one of the biggest storylines of the playoffs.

Pistons Continue Investing in Young Core

This is a significant investment in a player who doesn't have as much offensive production as many others who receive this level of contract extension. But there's more work to do.

Jalen Duren is still looking for a new contract after another strong season, and that's something Detroit will have to address as it continues locking up its young core. The young pillars of this team is starting to come together, and Detroit now has multiple foundational pieces it can build around for years to come.