Ausar Thompson Injury Analysis and Long-Term Fantasy Outlook | Which Pistons Should You Target on Waiver Wire?

Discussing the season-ending ailment for Detroit's Ausar Thompson and how to proceed if you rostered him in your fantasy league.

The Detroit Pistons have had a really rough go of things this season, and things got worse this week when it was revealed that rookie Ausar Thompson would miss the remainder of the season while dealing with a blood clot issue.

Let’s discuss what Thompson accomplished this season, his long-term fantasy outlook and then dive into some of the Detroit players to target with Thompson no longer a part of the rotation.

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Thompson’s Season

Thompson was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. 

He played in 63 games this season, starting 38 of them and averaging 25.1 minutes per contest. Thompson also was averaging 8.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks.

The rookie was shooting 48.3% from the field but just 18.6% from deep. Thompson was 59.7% from the free-throw line.

Thompson finished with two double-doubles for the season. He scored over 10 points on 22 occasions, including three games over 20 points. He grabbed 10 or more rebounds eight times and had at least five boards in 45 games.

Thompson finished with five or more assists just six times this season. He was credited with a steal in 38 games and a block in 35 contests.

Long-Term Fantasy Outlook

The positive news is that Thompson was already cleared for conditioning, so he should be able to jump into basketball-related activities after the season wraps up. This more looks like a situation in which a bad team is trying to protect a young asset - there’s really no reason to have him out there, as the team is nowhere near the playoffs.

Thompson did some good things as a rookie, but has plenty of areas to improve in. Being a forward, he’s going to need to improve his 3-point percentage in order to stick in the league for the long haul. 

With Detroit likely rebuilding for the next couple seasons, Thompson should be one of the players the team builds around, but also keep in mind that another high draft pick could be added to the mix each season as well.

Thompson was a solid fantasy asset because he was able to stuff the stat sheet most nights. He had some ups and downs from a scoring perspective, but was able to provide something each time he took the court regardless. 

For those of you in dynasty leagues, I’d imagine Thompson is going to be a rookie that’s hard to move this offseason. The fantasy owners that drafted him this year are likely not going to want to give him up, as his return in a trade would likely be lower than the price paid to draft him. You could at least ask to see if maybe somebody would be willing to deal him away for fairly cheap, and then if things click in the future, you have a fantasy asset for years to come.

Thompson had an Average Draft Position of 128.73 this season, and I’d imagine that’s likely to fall a bit going into next season after what he delivered this season, and with some health concerns.

Pistons Fantasy Outlook

As for how to handle things in fantasy leagues this year if you rostered Thompson, there’s several players you could target. 

First off, Thompson can be safely dropped in all redraft formats. Hopefully your dynasty/keeper leagues have some injury spots to place him into, otherwise he’ll be taking away a valuable spot on your fantasy roster.

Jaden Ivey is available in about 20% of leagues right now, and should be one of your top targets with Thompson out of the picture. Ivey averages 15.3 points, 3.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks and could increase those averages while playing a couple extra minutes that Thompson used to cover.

Simone Fontecchio is another player to consider - he’s owned in 55% of leagues right now. Fontecchio has been great since joining the Pistons, averaging 15.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.3 blocks across 30.3 minutes played.

Isaiah Stewart would have been another player to consider, but he was also ruled out for the season - he’s dealing with a hamstring issue.

Marcus Sasser and Quentin Grimes are a couple of sparsely-owned guards/wings that should get some extended minutes with those two players out. 

Jalen Duren will suck up a lot of the center minutes, but James Wiseman could also see an extended role with Thompson and Stewart out. Wiseman is owned in 21% of leagues right now.

Evan Fournier, Stanley Umude, Malachi Flynn, Tosan Evbuomwan, Chimezie Metu, Troy Brown Jr. and Taj Gibson are other players who have gotten some playing time over the past few games. I’d focus my attention on Ivey, Fontecchio and Wiseman right now, and then watch the team’s box scores the next couple nights to see if any other players step up and could be decent fantasy assets.

#injuries #waiver-wire