Pistons Notes: Ausur Thompson, bench, JB Bickerstaff, Game 7

The Pistons are wasting little time looking ahead to next season.

Ausar Thompson becomes extension-eligible this offseason, and according to The Athletic’s Hunter Patterson, Detroit would like to lock him up as part of its long-term core.

That makes sense. Thompson has already emerged as one of the league’s elite defenders, finishing third in Defensive Player of the Year voting while averaging 3.8 combined steals and blocks per game during the playoffs.

The offense still needs polish. Everybody knows that. But the Pistons clearly believe the rest of the package is worth investing in now.

Detroit also has other major roster decisions looming, including possible new deals for Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, while veteran forward Tobias Harris faces an uncertain future.

There’s work to do this summer. Plenty of it.

Bench issues

One thing became obvious during the postseason.

Detroit needs more offense beyond Cade Cunningham.

The Pistons’ second unit struggled throughout the playoffs, according to The Detroit News’ Coty M. Davis, and finding additional scoring punch will likely become one of the front office’s top priorities.

Because while the regular season was outstanding, the playoffs exposed some of the roster limitations.

When Cade sat, things often stalled offensively. Against a deeper Cleveland team, that became hard to overcome.

Coach support

The good news for J.B. Bickerstaff? His job status doesn’t appear to be in question whatsoever.

Patterson reported that the organization remains fully committed to Bickerstaff and views him as Detroit’s coach of the future. The Pistons recently signed him to an extension and continue to value the culture he has built inside the locker room.

That culture showed up all season.

Detroit finished 60-22, the third-best record in franchise history, before running into a Cavaliers team that simply overwhelmed it in Game 7.

Even afterward, Bickerstaff refused to let one ugly loss define the season.

“It’s not a disappointment at all,” he said. “And not ever will I be disappointed in these guys.”

He continued praising the team’s spirit, sacrifice and willingness to be coached.

“It’s a special group,” Bickerstaff said.

Lingering loss

Not everyone was quite ready to move on so quickly.

For Thompson, the Game 7 blowout is sticking around for a while.

“No, I’m not forgetting,” Thompson told reporters. “That series, that felt personal.”

The Cavaliers took control early Sunday night and never really let go, turning a tight series into a 125-94 rout by the end.

Thompson made it clear he plans to carry that memory into next season. “I remember,” he said.

That probably isn’t the worst thing for Detroit moving forward.