Monty Williams did not hold back when discussing Ausar Thompson and the current state of the Detroit Pistons. As some NBA fans might remember, Monty used to be the head coach for the Phoenix Suns and managed to help the team make the NBA Finals. However, he soon accepted the head coaching position for the Pistons.
Given that they are a young and inexperienced team, many assumed that Monty Williams’ coaching and leadership would be able to help the team improve their regular season record and gradually become contenders. However, that has yet to happen so far this season.
The Pistons are currently on the verge of infamously making NBA history as one of the teams with the longest losing streak ever. That puts Monty and the other players on the roster under the microscope. When discussing his preferred lineup, Williams made some statements about Ausar Thompson that deserve a closer look.
Monty Williams opines that Ausar Thompson needs to earn his playing minutes
There is no getting around the fact that the Pistons are arguably one of the worst teams in the NBA at the moment. Despite having talented young stars such as Cade Cunningham, Mavin Bagely II and Ausar Thompson, the team currently holds a subpar record of 2 wins and 21 losses.
Since the team is desperate for a win, Monty Williams broke down why he chose to insert Killian Hayes into the lineup instead of Ausar. He even went on to break down the mistakes in Thompson’s game at the moment.
“Ausar is a developing player who is going to be really good, but when you grow in a program, gifting minutes is not something that we are going to do especially when our players need to grow and not make the same mistakes again and again. I think every young player goes through it. We wanted to give more pace. Killian allows for that…”
I asked Pistons head coach Monty Williams about his starting five for tonight
“You must not know me that well”
I then asked him about the decision to start Killian Hayes over Ausar Thompson a few games ago — he talked about allowing Cade [Cunningham] to play off the ball more pic.twitter.com/KvqVLptrs2
— Adam Koffler (@AdamKoffler) December 8, 2023
Monty continued, “Based on injuries and other things Ausar’s time will creep back up there but every young player in my opinion, they need time to process and learn. It’s not a slight on him, it’s just a part of his growth the way I see it.”
Although the Pistons head coach tried to reduce the impact of his statements towards the end, it is clear that he believes Ausar has a long way to go before earning his position as a starter on the Detroit Pistons.
Can Ausar help break the Detroit Pistons’ losing streak?
Since the team is still losing regardless of whether Ausar is on the court or not, there is no way of knowing whether Monty is making a valid analysis. In the 23 games played so far this season, Ausar has averaged 10.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists.