The Brooklyn Nets head into this offseason with loads of selections to make, particularly because it pertains to the 2026 NBA Draft and the way they construct the roster from there. Brooklyn continues to be in the early levels of its rebuild, however subsequent season might be the 12 months for them to try for making the postseason. Could a defensive stalwart be what the Nets purchase this summer time?
“Ausar Thompson goes to be extension-eligible and was a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year. That’s not somebody the Detroit Pistons will give [a]approach,” Dan Favale wrote for Bleacher Report. Favale’s article proposes three gamers that every NBA workforce may pursue this offseason via trade and Thompson is one among the gamers he advised for Brooklyn given the workforce’s latest defensive struggles.
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“With that said, he’s sometimes found himself on the outskirts of the closing lineup. If Detroit flames out of the postseason earlier than expected, he could hit the chopping block as it pursues bigger-time offensive upgrades,” Favale continued. As Favale identified, Thompson is eligible for a contract extension after this season ends, however the Pistons have already picked up his $11.1 million membership possibility for the 2026-27 marketing campaign.
Thompson, 23, had one among his higher seasons in the NBA this 12 months as he averaged 9.9 factors, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and a pair of.0 steals per sport whereas taking pictures 52.5% from the area and 25.0% from behind the three-point line. While Thompson’s taking pictures is at present the largest weak spot in his sport, he can just about do all the pieces else on the flooring, just like his twin brother, Amen, with the Houston Rockets.
The Nets will probably be one among the few groups this summer time to have loads of cash to spend in quite a lot of methods and a type of methods might be including somebody with the kind of defensive resume that Thompson has. Granted, that may rely on whether or not Detroit is keen to trade Thompson after the season the workforce had this 12 months, but when they’re keen to alter their roster, Brooklyn common supervisor Sean Marks may do some exploration on buying Thompson.
This article initially appeared on Nets Wire: Should the Nets pursue Pistons’ Ausar Thompson via trade this summer?