{"id":98805,"date":"2024-10-01T19:50:22","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T23:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=98805"},"modified":"2024-10-21T14:00:18","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T18:00:18","slug":"pistons-promising-ausar-thompson-adding-game-awaiting-clearance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/01\/pistons-promising-ausar-thompson-adding-game-awaiting-clearance\/","title":{"rendered":"Pistons Ausar Thompson Adding To Game, Awaiting Clearance"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Detroit Pistons want to change the perception that they\u2019re a bottom-rung team. Though they haven\u2019t pivoted away from a youth movement, they\u2019ve attempted to rectify last season\u2019s issues by signing players who can balance the floor and teach their core pieces how to navigate through the league. Tobias Harris<\/a>, who is entering his 14th NBA season, has already taken Ron Holland<\/a> and Ausar Thompson<\/a> \u2014selected fifth overall in back-to-back drafts\u2014under his wing.<\/p>\n

In Holland\u2019s case, the focus has been on his diet<\/a>. The Texas native isn\u2019t in danger of being too heavy or having too much body fat. Nonetheless, a player\u2019s nutrition goes a long way toward helping them stay on the court<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With Thompson, he\u2019s trying to help the young forward tap into his shooting potential. During the Pistons Media Day, Thompson acknowledged that Harris would often say, \u201cAT, come shoot with me<\/a>\u201d (h\/t Omari Sanfoka II of the Detroit Free Press). At no point during his rookie season did he receive that type of invite.<\/p>\n

Pistons Promising Wing Ausar Thompson Adding To Game, Awaiting Clearance<\/h2>\n

Thompson\u2019s ability to improve as an outside shooter will be a storyline throughout the season.<\/p>\n

However, the more pressing issue is getting him cleared for training camp and beyond. The 21-year-old can participate in individual workouts<\/a> but his season-ending blood clot<\/a> was a serious medical concern. So, there\u2019s \u201cno timeline<\/a>\u201d on when he\u2019ll be back in action, per Pistons president Trajan Langdon (h\/t Larry Lage of the Associated Press).<\/p>\n

In the meantime, it\u2019s good to see Thompson working on his 3-ball with shooting guru Fred Vinson. In the following clip, posted by Brandon Dent of Woodward Sports, Thompson\u2019s stroke looked more fluid than last season. Unfortunately, it\u2019s difficult to tell from the video angle how efficient he was during the drill.<\/p>\n

\n

A quick look around the gym for the first day of #Pistons<\/a> training camp<\/p>\n

Ausar Thompson is most featured and you can see his improved shooting form working with Fred Vinson pic.twitter.com\/UXuHT6XSrP<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Brandon Dent | @WoodwardSports #DetroitKoolAid (@DetroitKoolAid) October 1, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n