I'm all for having Ausar in the G-League for awhile so he can actually play (same for Sasser, actually). There's a few reasons I'd prefer some G-League time rather than starting him on the NBA squad: 1) Without being able to shoot, he's not the SF this starting unit needs at this moment. Outside of Cade's exhausted Rockets game, he has finally been able to find his scoring groove with even average shooting around him. 2) He's not physically ready to thrive as a non-shooting 4, if that's his future. If I'm remembering right, the average height and weight of PFs drafted this year was about 6'9 and 230lbs. Ausar is 3 inches and 10lbs under the average. And even a lot of those guys are going to have to put on grown man weight and muscle to reach their potential. You can be undersized at the 4, but usually only if you can shoot. And Ausar hasn't really played the PF role historically, either. Now he has had some amount of offensive success at this role so far early in the season, but it's typically when he's making backdoor cuts and using his agility to avoid getting crowded. He's a good lob threat and has playmaking ability, but he's not without competition for that role. And that's the third issue. 3) Ausar's presence on the starting lineup hurts Duren's development. It's plain to see that Duren is Cade's preferred lob threat. He is athletic, has some playmaking ability, and plays very well off of Cade. However he's much more physical than Ausar, and able to play through contact due to his size. And, at only 20, he will improve rapidly as he grows. When it comes to being a physical, non-shooting, athletic lob threat, he's 4 inches and 30lbs ahead of Ausar in that race, and a year ahead in experience, despite being younger. Some people might say, "There's more to Ausar than that!" And they'd be right. However, that's basically what Ausar's been doing this whole time. Ausar was able to carve out a role with Duren out. In games without Duren, Ausar was averaging 10.3PPG, whereas he has only averaged 8.2 in games he's played with Duren. Now that's not a gigantic drop off for Ausar, but the issue is less about Ausar's offense when Duren's around, and more about what you do with Duren when you're trying to feed Ausar. In games where both Ausar and Duren played, whenever Ausar has 10 or more FG attempts, Duren averages 9.0PPG on 8.3 shots with 54% FG. In games where both Ausar and Duren played, whenever Ausar has 9 or less FG attempts, Duren averages 15.2PPG on 9.5 shots with 69% FG. Neither provides spacing and they both want to take the same shots. If we want to be able to keep both of them, we'll have to either get Ausar to develop a shot, wait until he grows significantly stronger, or start making use of his playmaking ability and go back to developing him as a Guard. In the meantime, trying to develop Ausar on the starting lineup hurts our starters, while trying to develop him on the bench hurts Ausar. So the G-League seems like the best solution for now.
@@whatwedoinyah1614 Sure! He's a great rebounder, and actually has his rebounding improve when around Duren at times. The issue is just finding an offensive role for him on that starting lineup that he doesn't have to share, which is tough when he and Duren both basically want to get under the basket and fight for offensive rebounds and putbacks.
Ausar has a higher ceiling than duren and will most likely be a way better player if im ausar I would want to get traded tbh why would I go to the g league if nba teams want my talent and I’m at nba level he can’t shoot well now but next year he could be a 35% 3pt shooter and he prob the best defender in the nba being able to guard everyone if Detroit wanna build around duren they could stay as the worse nba team in the league as they are building around him and Cade and guess what they are at the very bottom of the league
He needs to be in the G-League. Not because he's bad, but because he needs the "lab" time he can get there to get the reps on the things he needs to get better at to really be unlocked. He's not going to get 20+ shots a night and 8+ 3 attempts a night at the NBA level, but you can force feed him those shots in the G-League. Same goes for Killian (they should have done it a long time ago, like his rookie year after the injury when it was clear in his 7 games before the injury that his scoring was much more of a work in progress than they thought), because for 3+ years now he hasn't gotten the consistent volume on shot attempts in games to finally get over the hump; you can see in games he's thinking about his percentages on each shot he takes, fretting over if it's going to be another miss (to the point he's in his own head so much that it's affected him at the line and ledt to his FT% CRATERING - generally, you only see a player's FT% drop more than a single standard deviation from their career average if they're in some kind of confidence/mental funk). Get him to the G-League for the rest of the season, force the coach to run a heliocentric system around him to force feed him 30+ shots a night (10 3s - 5 off the dribble, 5 off the catch, 10 middies, and 10 lay-ups/floaters/dunks - 5 with his right hand, 5 with his left) plus plenty of on-ball reps as the ball-handler in pick and rolls/pops, Iverson cuts, drive and kicks, DHOs, dribble-cut-dribble sequences, etc plus off-ball reps as a screener and cutter (so he's more useful to Cade and Ivey when they're on-ball). Do the same for Ausar. And for the love of God, hire some shooting and general offense coaches/personal trainers with solid credentials on their resumes of guys they've improved at the NBA level and have them running Kill and Ausar through 8+ hours of drills and Driveline-esque shot mechanics film sessions on days when they aren't playing a G-League game. It's a lost season anyways, what does the team lose by giving them lab time like this in the G-League? You spent lottery picks on both guys. Yet for 3+ years you've barely given Kill development resources besides force feeding him minutes at the NBA level where he barely gets to take shots (so he never gets comfortable taking them, so he's never confident taking them, so he's always in his head and paranoid about missing ie a formula for permanent inefficiency) and you're about to let him walk in FA if you don't trade him for a 2nd rounder at the deadline - a waste of a lottery pick and 4 years of Kill's, the fans', the coaching staff's, and the org as a whole's time. And you're about a half a year into doing the same thing with Ausar. You still have a chance to salvage enough of Kill to make him an above average bench rotation guard you can resign to a bargain of a deal this off-season (because no way does another team throw him a bag bigger than twice the vet minimum a year over 3 years after what he's done so far regardless of what improvement he could show from here on out, and that's a deal the Pistons should definitely match), and you have a chance to completely nip in the bud the same thing from happening to Ausar. Get them to the G-League for at least 5 games a piece (i would prefer 10 for Kill and the rest of the G-League season for Ausar). Get them trainers to work their asses off on drills and film they need to improve and basically pay them to live with the players. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, TROY - YOU CAN STILL SAVE THESE GUYS. SAVING THEM HELPS THE OTHER LOTTERY PICKS AND SAVES THEM TOO!
@goat7555 he's never getting better shooting 42% on 7 attempts a game where he's stuck in his own head every shot at the NBA level right now. The only chance you have of finding out if he can score even kind of efficiently is getting him out of his head, getting him comfortable shooting, and shooting confidently. The only way you do that is force feeding in-game reps and drill time. The only place he can do that is the G-League. And this applies just as much to Ausar. Reps in general tend to improve shooting mechanics/efficiency. Reps that get you comfortable and confident will improve efficiency. I've never heard of a player improving their efficiency while they continue to be obviously paranoid about their efficiency, and Hayes has been stuck in that head space for 3+ years.
@@goat7555 it will if you tell him why you're doing it and that you're not concerned with %s until you stop seeing him visibly in his own head every time he takes a shot. He never got the freedom to fail on high volume. You don't fix confidence issues bad shooting mechanics without high volume reps. That's a likely contributing culprit in his stalled development, and it will end up stalling Ausar too
he doesn't need 20 shots a night, BUT he DOES need 25 minutes a night where he isn't just placed in a corner on the offense. REAL coaches tailor their plan to the players they have, not trying to force players into their small minded system.
He doesn't need G league time. This team is SO bad he should be able to develop and get minutes, But the coaching is so bad that they don't utilize him the correct way.
Ausar Thompson’s defense is already among the best. Now imagine sending him to the G-League, letting him develop his offensive game more, and he will be an AMAZING player like a 2-way type of player where he can be effective on both sides of the court.
Nothing but excuses! Where was the excuses for Coach Casey and his staff? Coach Casey had this same team minus Cade and Asur and was able to win 17 games while going into full tank mode the last month of the year and nobody questioned the “roster construction” or made excuses for him
The excuses weren't there yet because it was years 1-3 of a rebuild so more time for patience... But now it's Because the roster somehow got worse. Saddiq Bey traded for Wiseman when you already have bagley and doing basically nothing in free agency.
@@KofieWhy dude were you making all these excuses when Coach Casey resigned? Were you making all of those excuses when Monty Williams was hired? Were you making all of those excuses when the Pistons was 2-1?
I've been saying bad roster since day one.... my feeling on the Pistons, is that prior to the lottery they had a plan in place. I think that plan revolved around landing the 1 and Webby. And that's fine.... make a plan so when execution time comes you know where you're going. Problem is, they only had one plan. And that plan went belly up when they didn't get the 1. But then, at that point where they didn't win the lottery like they expected, they stuck to the same plan. Every move they made looks like it was designed to play with Webby.
Its so irritating they not letting him make his mistakes and grow Jalen,Jaden and Cade all had that opportunity but A.T. most top 5 picks get that opportunity
I think it was a mistake by Williams to bench Thompson. He was on a clear roll and damaged his psyche. While it’s worrying in the sense that he hasn’t responded well, he’s still basically a kid. Let him grow from this and learn. He’ll be fine.
Ausar Thompson is in the Jarred Vanderbilt mold right now, where he provides nothing on offense and is an elite defender. I feel like the Pistons have to treat him like how Golden State does where he gets the ball and tries to playmake for others.
You're in the middle years of the Celtics and Sixers rebuild where nobody is trying to construct a roster, they're just aqcuiring value wherever they can and leaving it to rot. The problem is both of those teams developed and fostered their talent much better than this. You still need guys like Paul Pierce or JJ Redick on that team to develop your talent for you.
It's the Alec Burks experience. The man doesn't know how to move the ball. He either shoots or passes specifically for the assist. The ball stops with him.
The problem is he’s a guard and is being forced to play forward because this team has so many guards if he was on a team wit less guards even him coming off the bench being the main guy would definitely help a lot
honestly ausar with a jumpshot is essentially og anunoby, maybe a bit better so his development and cades should be the priority and they jus dont see that
Imagine being the worst team in the league and taking away an opportunity from a young star draft pick who was playing great. It shows just how bad some coaches and front offices really are. The Pistons are a reflection of the way they are coached and run starting at the top. The way they have screwed over AT is inexcusable
Imagine showing up to a Pokemon gym with a whole team of level 1 guys. But if you go with one level one guy and someone who can win the fight, the level 1 guy will level up
I agree with you on Thompson, but as a tangent you talked about Hayes.I understand you're a fan. But what about Killian Hayes makes you think anything other than "worse Jordan Poole at best"? He gets a lot of hate, but as someone who saw about 20 Pistons games over the past few years, and as far as I'm concerned it is well deserved. He sucks, and he plays like doesn't.
this is completely aside from the video kofie but I really fucking love that sweater where can I find it my sister would fucking love it. also I subbed
The saving grace of this terrible season is that you're making Pistons content that seems to be getting an audience on here. Are there any veteran's minimum or currently overseas players that you think could help give the team guidance, if more spots were opened up by moving some players to the G-League?
His ceiling is definitely the new knick og. But that's a damn good player. Og however had Toronto's development staff whereas ausar does not. So we'll see what happens.
I'm all for having Ausar in the G-League for awhile so he can actually play (same for Sasser, actually). There's a few reasons I'd prefer some G-League time rather than starting him on the NBA squad:
1) Without being able to shoot, he's not the SF this starting unit needs at this moment. Outside of Cade's exhausted Rockets game, he has finally been able to find his scoring groove with even average shooting around him.
2) He's not physically ready to thrive as a non-shooting 4, if that's his future. If I'm remembering right, the average height and weight of PFs drafted this year was about 6'9 and 230lbs. Ausar is 3 inches and 10lbs under the average. And even a lot of those guys are going to have to put on grown man weight and muscle to reach their potential. You can be undersized at the 4, but usually only if you can shoot. And Ausar hasn't really played the PF role historically, either. Now he has had some amount of offensive success at this role so far early in the season, but it's typically when he's making backdoor cuts and using his agility to avoid getting crowded. He's a good lob threat and has playmaking ability, but he's not without competition for that role. And that's the third issue.
3) Ausar's presence on the starting lineup hurts Duren's development. It's plain to see that Duren is Cade's preferred lob threat. He is athletic, has some playmaking ability, and plays very well off of Cade. However he's much more physical than Ausar, and able to play through contact due to his size. And, at only 20, he will improve rapidly as he grows. When it comes to being a physical, non-shooting, athletic lob threat, he's 4 inches and 30lbs ahead of Ausar in that race, and a year ahead in experience, despite being younger. Some people might say, "There's more to Ausar than that!" And they'd be right. However, that's basically what Ausar's been doing this whole time.
Ausar was able to carve out a role with Duren out. In games without Duren, Ausar was averaging 10.3PPG, whereas he has only averaged 8.2 in games he's played with Duren. Now that's not a gigantic drop off for Ausar, but the issue is less about Ausar's offense when Duren's around, and more about what you do with Duren when you're trying to feed Ausar.
In games where both Ausar and Duren played, whenever Ausar has 10 or more FG attempts, Duren averages 9.0PPG on 8.3 shots with 54% FG.
In games where both Ausar and Duren played, whenever Ausar has 9 or less FG attempts, Duren averages 15.2PPG on 9.5 shots with 69% FG.
Neither provides spacing and they both want to take the same shots. If we want to be able to keep both of them, we'll have to either get Ausar to develop a shot, wait until he grows significantly stronger, or start making use of his playmaking ability and go back to developing him as a Guard. In the meantime, trying to develop Ausar on the starting lineup hurts our starters, while trying to develop him on the bench hurts Ausar. So the G-League seems like the best solution for now.
ausar can average 10 rebounds tho as a starter easy
@@whatwedoinyah1614 Sure! He's a great rebounder, and actually has his rebounding improve when around Duren at times. The issue is just finding an offensive role for him on that starting lineup that he doesn't have to share, which is tough when he and Duren both basically want to get under the basket and fight for offensive rebounds and putbacks.
Ausar has a higher ceiling than duren and will most likely be a way better player if im ausar I would want to get traded tbh why would I go to the g league if nba teams want my talent and I’m at nba level he can’t shoot well now but next year he could be a 35% 3pt shooter and he prob the best defender in the nba being able to guard everyone if Detroit wanna build around duren they could stay as the worse nba team in the league as they are building around him and Cade and guess what they are at the very bottom of the league
He needs to be in the G-League. Not because he's bad, but because he needs the "lab" time he can get there to get the reps on the things he needs to get better at to really be unlocked.
He's not going to get 20+ shots a night and 8+ 3 attempts a night at the NBA level, but you can force feed him those shots in the G-League.
Same goes for Killian (they should have done it a long time ago, like his rookie year after the injury when it was clear in his 7 games before the injury that his scoring was much more of a work in progress than they thought), because for 3+ years now he hasn't gotten the consistent volume on shot attempts in games to finally get over the hump; you can see in games he's thinking about his percentages on each shot he takes, fretting over if it's going to be another miss (to the point he's in his own head so much that it's affected him at the line and ledt to his FT% CRATERING - generally, you only see a player's FT% drop more than a single standard deviation from their career average if they're in some kind of confidence/mental funk). Get him to the G-League for the rest of the season, force the coach to run a heliocentric system around him to force feed him 30+ shots a night (10 3s - 5 off the dribble, 5 off the catch, 10 middies, and 10 lay-ups/floaters/dunks - 5 with his right hand, 5 with his left) plus plenty of on-ball reps as the ball-handler in pick and rolls/pops, Iverson cuts, drive and kicks, DHOs, dribble-cut-dribble sequences, etc plus off-ball reps as a screener and cutter (so he's more useful to Cade and Ivey when they're on-ball). Do the same for Ausar.
And for the love of God, hire some shooting and general offense coaches/personal trainers with solid credentials on their resumes of guys they've improved at the NBA level and have them running Kill and Ausar through 8+ hours of drills and Driveline-esque shot mechanics film sessions on days when they aren't playing a G-League game. It's a lost season anyways, what does the team lose by giving them lab time like this in the G-League?
You spent lottery picks on both guys. Yet for 3+ years you've barely given Kill development resources besides force feeding him minutes at the NBA level where he barely gets to take shots (so he never gets comfortable taking them, so he's never confident taking them, so he's always in his head and paranoid about missing ie a formula for permanent inefficiency) and you're about to let him walk in FA if you don't trade him for a 2nd rounder at the deadline - a waste of a lottery pick and 4 years of Kill's, the fans', the coaching staff's, and the org as a whole's time. And you're about a half a year into doing the same thing with Ausar. You still have a chance to salvage enough of Kill to make him an above average bench rotation guard you can resign to a bargain of a deal this off-season (because no way does another team throw him a bag bigger than twice the vet minimum a year over 3 years after what he's done so far regardless of what improvement he could show from here on out, and that's a deal the Pistons should definitely match), and you have a chance to completely nip in the bud the same thing from happening to Ausar.
Get them to the G-League for at least 5 games a piece (i would prefer 10 for Kill and the rest of the G-League season for Ausar). Get them trainers to work their asses off on drills and film they need to improve and basically pay them to live with the players.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, TROY - YOU CAN STILL SAVE THESE GUYS. SAVING THEM HELPS THE OTHER LOTTERY PICKS AND SAVES THEM TOO!
Omg Killian Hayes shooting 30% on 30 Shot attempts a Night 😭 you’re Setting this man up 😂
@goat7555 he's never getting better shooting 42% on 7 attempts a game where he's stuck in his own head every shot at the NBA level right now.
The only chance you have of finding out if he can score even kind of efficiently is getting him out of his head, getting him comfortable shooting, and shooting confidently. The only way you do that is force feeding in-game reps and drill time. The only place he can do that is the G-League. And this applies just as much to Ausar.
Reps in general tend to improve shooting mechanics/efficiency. Reps that get you comfortable and confident will improve efficiency. I've never heard of a player improving their efficiency while they continue to be obviously paranoid about their efficiency, and Hayes has been stuck in that head space for 3+ years.
@@dmore454 force feeding him 30+ shots a game will not boost his confidence I can tell you that
@@goat7555 it will if you tell him why you're doing it and that you're not concerned with %s until you stop seeing him visibly in his own head every time he takes a shot.
He never got the freedom to fail on high volume. You don't fix confidence issues bad shooting mechanics without high volume reps. That's a likely contributing culprit in his stalled development, and it will end up stalling Ausar too
he doesn't need 20 shots a night, BUT he DOES need 25 minutes a night where he isn't just placed in a corner on the offense. REAL coaches tailor their plan to the players they have, not trying to force players into their small minded system.
He doesn't need G league time. This team is SO bad he should be able to develop and get minutes, But the coaching is so bad that they don't utilize him the correct way.
Exactly!!
Ausar Thompson’s defense is already among the best. Now imagine sending him to the G-League, letting him develop his offensive game more, and he will be an AMAZING player like a 2-way type of player where he can be effective on both sides of the court.
when we started losing a bunch of games, i literally only watched for ausar. now he’s not even put into ANY position where he’ll thrive smh.
Me too😢
I blame Monty Williams. He as so good for my fantasy
same here, miss those 40 point contributions
I also blame Cade for shooting poorly last night... Ausar was too afraid to take shots because he missed his brother.
@@g.b.alejandro6268😂 that could be true but Cade was due for an off night
Dwane casey would have had a better record with this current squad
@@RealestatePape i've watched that game and didnt finished 🤣 sadly to hear that Cade goes for 2 - 11 ?! .... my goodness 🤣
Nothing but excuses! Where was the excuses for Coach Casey and his staff? Coach Casey had this same team minus Cade and Asur and was able to win 17 games while going into full tank mode the last month of the year and nobody questioned the “roster construction” or made excuses for him
The excuses weren't there yet because it was years 1-3 of a rebuild so more time for patience... But now it's Because the roster somehow got worse. Saddiq Bey traded for Wiseman when you already have bagley and doing basically nothing in free agency.
@@KofieWhy dude were you making all these excuses when Coach Casey resigned? Were you making all of those excuses when Monty Williams was hired? Were you making all of those excuses when the Pistons was 2-1?
The Shoutout to thinking basketball is beatiful
I've been saying bad roster since day one.... my feeling on the Pistons, is that prior to the lottery they had a plan in place. I think that plan revolved around landing the 1 and Webby. And that's fine.... make a plan so when execution time comes you know where you're going. Problem is, they only had one plan. And that plan went belly up when they didn't get the 1. But then, at that point where they didn't win the lottery like they expected, they stuck to the same plan. Every move they made looks like it was designed to play with Webby.
Its so irritating they not letting him make his mistakes and grow Jalen,Jaden and Cade all had that opportunity but A.T. most top 5 picks get that opportunity
I don’t give a good god damn about the Pistons but I just love listening to Kofie
I think it was a mistake by Williams to bench Thompson. He was on a clear roll and damaged his psyche. While it’s worrying in the sense that he hasn’t responded well, he’s still basically a kid. Let him grow from this and learn. He’ll be fine.
Monty should have an alternative every time Cade lost his appetite for playing.
Agreed
Ausar Thompson is in the Jarred Vanderbilt mold right now, where he provides nothing on offense and is an elite defender. I feel like the Pistons have to treat him like how Golden State does where he gets the ball and tries to playmake for others.
You're in the middle years of the Celtics and Sixers rebuild where nobody is trying to construct a roster, they're just aqcuiring value wherever they can and leaving it to rot. The problem is both of those teams developed and fostered their talent much better than this. You still need guys like Paul Pierce or JJ Redick on that team to develop your talent for you.
It's the Alec Burks experience. The man doesn't know how to move the ball. He either shoots or passes specifically for the assist. The ball stops with him.
You and me man... Matching buffs... Btw this video is super good
The problem is he’s a guard and is being forced to play forward because this team has so many guards if he was on a team wit less guards even him coming off the bench being the main guy would definitely help a lot
Monty said he doesn’t believe in advanced stats and it shows in his rotations
honestly ausar with a jumpshot is essentially og anunoby, maybe a bit better so his development and cades should be the priority and they jus dont see that
Imagine being the worst team in the league and taking away an opportunity from a young star draft pick who was playing great. It shows just how bad some coaches and front offices really are. The Pistons are a reflection of the way they are coached and run starting at the top. The way they have screwed over AT is inexcusable
I had to drop him from my fantasy team 😔
Imagine showing up to a Pokemon gym with a whole team of level 1 guys. But if you go with one level one guy and someone who can win the fight, the level 1 guy will level up
Front office and Monty are 🚮 🗑️
Agree. Start and get the benefit of playing with the best possible group or go to the G-League and find his shot
The Pistons Bench is the like the Upside Down version of the NBA.
I agree with you on Thompson, but as a tangent you talked about Hayes.I understand you're a fan. But what about Killian Hayes makes you think anything other than "worse Jordan Poole at best"? He gets a lot of hate, but as someone who saw about 20 Pistons games over the past few years, and as far as I'm concerned it is well deserved. He sucks, and he plays like doesn't.
If he is only playing 15 minutes, he needs to press full court. Monty doesn’t know how to use the young Swiss Army knife
this is completely aside from the video kofie but I really fucking love that sweater where can I find it my sister would fucking love it. also I subbed
This is a pathetic ritual with Ausar. Rise from the aches....
The saving grace of this terrible season is that you're making Pistons content that seems to be getting an audience on here.
Are there any veteran's minimum or currently overseas players that you think could help give the team guidance, if more spots were opened up by moving some players to the G-League?
cogently reasoned
His ceiling is definitely the new knick og. But that's a damn good player. Og however had Toronto's development staff whereas ausar does not. So we'll see what happens.
his name is Ausar not Ashar