Who would Detroit take at 5?

[The Moose]

Current intel is suggesting Detroit has Ausar over Amen in the event they are both available at 5

[GSWFan1994]

Eh, the rim finishing % is a little bit of a red flag but I'm not too worried, considering how bad the spacing was in OTE - so his rim attempts were being done in tighter, more congested spaces, so harder to convert. And from watching his games, his touch around the game did improve later in the season. Also, if you watch the City Reapers games, there were quite a few times when Ausar missed a shot near the rim, but it should have been a foul - they really let them play and rarely blew the whistle in the OTE.

Also, this article talks about how FT shooting is not really the best indicator for future shooting projection:
https://theboxandone.substack.com/p/is-free-throw-success-an-indication

If we're talking about FT shooting though, Whitmore only shot 70% and Amen shot about the same % as Ausar.

In terms of 3 pt shooting, Ausar and Whitmore are headed in opposite directions..

Whitmore
First 15 games: 36.9% from 3 on 4.3 attempts per game
Last 11 games: 30% from 3 on 3.9 attempts per game

Ausar:
Overseas trip in the fall: (4.5%), 3.7 attempts per game
Preseason (11%), 3 attempts per game
Reg season: (30%), 3.8 attempts per game
Playoffs: (39%), 7.8 attempts per game
Last 4 Playoff games (44.1%), 8.5 attempts per game
*Hit game-winning 3 to clinch the league championship

Pretty wild improvement as a shooter by Ausar in less than a year.

And a pretty sizable gap between Ausar and Whitmore in terms of ball handling, passing/playmaking and defense.

With that being said, I'm not 100% that either twin would be a great fit in Detroit since the best spot for both of them is at guard, but you have Cade and Ivey there so you ideally would be adding a SF or a PF in there (with Duren at C).

Hal, I agree with you and appreciate your posts.

Just wanted to say something related to what you wrote in the last paragraph.

I think that could easily by arranged by them (Detroit's coaching staff) doing 2 simple things:

- Staggering the minutes of Cade, Ivey, Amem (let's suppose they draft him, but you understand my point).

You give 32 mins/each and it's done. You take into account injuries, load management, blowouts, etc also as well.

- You play the trio together at the same time via small ball lineups, which is becoming more and more common in the league nowadays, prioritizing spacing, ball movement, motion offense, etc.

Having said that, I don't know if that's the path the Detroit brass will take. I think they will go with Walker or Hendricks here.

That's it. Cheers.

[HiDef]

The spacing in OTE is really bad, which makes it tough for Ausar to pressure the rim. While, he might not be quite the elite rim pressure guy that Amen is, Ausar is still good at getting to the rim, imo.

And if I'm Detroit, I'm rather take the guy who is a better shooter and better off-ball guy, since your PG is Cade..and considering Cade and Ivey aren't great shooters..plus, the other young guy you're building around (Duren) is a non-shooter.

Ausar is a rapidly improving shooter..and he has all-star potential.

Agree to disagree I think. 15-37 at the rim in the half-court on layups is pretty bad, a few nice plays here and there won't cut it for me. Beyond the ability to dribble it really calls into question his touch around the rim to finish that poorly given his obvious size, strenght and athleticism. With the shot, it still needs work and the low FT% is a bad indicator too, even if it's not like it's impossible for him to become a solid shooter.

I get that we need shooting and Ivey and Cade ideally are our guards going forwards, but as bad as we are you can't go for need. Anyways, Cade and either twin are big enough to play some SF on defense.

Amen, Whitmore and Hendricks are the guys I like best that we have any shot at.

Eh, the rim finishing % is a little bit of a red flag but I'm not too worried, considering how bad the spacing was in OTE - so his rim attempts were being done in tighter, more congested spaces, so harder to convert. And from watching his games, his touch around the game did improve later in the season. Also, if you watch the City Reapers games, there were quite a few times when Ausar missed a shot near the rim, but it should have been a foul - they really let them play and rarely blew the whistle in the OTE.

Also, this article talks about how FT shooting is not really the best indicator for future shooting projection:
https://theboxandone.substack.com/p/is-free-throw-success-an-indication

If we're talking about FT shooting though, Whitmore only shot 70% and Amen shot about the same % as Ausar.

In terms of 3 pt shooting, Ausar and Whitmore are headed in opposite directions..

Whitmore
First 15 games: 36.9% from 3 on 4.3 attempts per game
Last 11 games: 30% from 3 on 3.9 attempts per game

Ausar:
Overseas trip in the fall: (4.5%), 3.7 attempts per game
Preseason (11%), 3 attempts per game
Reg season: (30%), 3.8 attempts per game
Playoffs: (39%), 7.8 attempts per game
Last 4 Playoff games (44.1%), 8.5 attempts per game
*Hit game-winning 3 to clinch the league championship

Pretty wild improvement as a shooter by Ausar in less than a year.

And a pretty sizable gap between Ausar and Whitmore in terms of ball handling, passing/playmaking and defense.

With that being said, I'm not 100% that either twin would be a great fit in Detroit since the best spot for both of them is at guard, but you have Cade and Ivey there so you ideally would be adding a SF or a PF in there (with Duren at C).

That article about FT% is a little suspicious... I know he's talking about guys who took some threes in college, but there sure are a lot of centers on that list.

I didn't realize Ausar was going for that kind of volume down the stretch..

Just going back through it, Ausar's shot mechanics really looked a lot more fluid, quick and clean in the playoffs. On the 2nd level as well. My biggest reservation with the Thompson twins is some of the stiffness... Ausar was moving better down the stretch. It's hard to say, he's shifty but he does seem to get his shot against smaller guys in the midrange. You know, he can move, but it's not like he gets into turnarounds, his footwork is still kind of stiff and forward facing.

Not sure about the finishing though. There aren't a lot of true 5s in the OTE. Ausar really doesn't create the kind of separation it takes to get good shots at the rim, and he doesn't do well finishing through contact. Tends to play below the rim when he can't get a good runway to attack. Whitmore on the other hand has a chance to be special with his rim pressure.

Whitmore seems like the safer bet but honestly I don't know how much Detroit needs another guy who just wants to get the ball and attack.

Tough spot for them because both are clearly a cut above Hendricks or Jarace Walker IMO

[EvanZ]

Hendricks would be such a home run hit for Detroit. People don't even know it yet.

[Braggins]

Ive had Hendricks at #5 in my rankings for a while and he seems like about the best fit possible for what Detroit needs.

[Hal14]

Not sure about the finishing though. There aren't a lot of true 5s in the OTE.

A lot of the misses Ausar had near the rim were with Somto Cyril challenging him at the rim and either altering the shot or blocking it. Cyril is a beast. He's BIG and was the OTE DPOY.

Some of the other times, Ausar was going up at the rim against Alex Sarr, who is 7'0" and a good defender.

And I think there was also some times when he was going up at the rim against Ivan Almansa, who's more of a 4 but is 6'10" and can play the 5 as well.

All of these guys could be 1st round picks in 2024 or 2025.

[HiDef]

Not sure about the finishing though. There aren't a lot of true 5s in the OTE.

A lot of the misses Ausar had near the rim were with Somto Cyril challenging him at the rim and either altering the shot or blocking it. Cyril is a beast. He's BIG and was the OTE DPOY.

Some of the other times, Ausar was going up at the rim against Alex Sarr, who is 7'0" and a good defender.

And I think there was also some times when he was going up at the rim against Ivan Almansa, who's more of a 4 but is 6'10" and can play the 5 as well.

Thanks for giving context. I feel like a lot of what I've seen is open rims for those 2. It's not something to panic over... If everyone could finish around 7ftrs they wouldn't exist

I don't know if his touch is the problem, he just seems to have a hard time finding angles to attack the rim. He is seeing a lot of bodies, not really getting the opportunity to do a lot of slashing off the ball... Compared to Amen it's night and day, the way Amen scissors through the lane... He also doesn't really seem to just put his head down when he isn't going in transition

[theBigLip]

Ive had Hendricks at #5 in my rankings for a while and he seems like about the best fit possible for what Detroit needs.

As much as I’d like Detroit to get an extra pick by moving down (Orlando, Indiana, Utah), I think Hendricks isn’t going to last long. Pistons should just play it safe and get Hendricks, then use their cap space with a crazy offer for Cam Johnson.