Can Pistons Wings Ron Holland and Ausar Thompson Play Together?

The fifth-overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft has an overlapping skillset with his teammate. Can they coexist on the floor?

Jun 26, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Ron Holland II poses for photos with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected in the first round by the Detroit Pistons in the 2024 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Coming out of high school, Duncanville phenom Ron Holland, who initially committed to Texas before flipping to the now-defunct G League Ignite, was arguably the top player in his class, with an extremely high ceiling based upon motor, physicality, defense, and rebounding.

An explosive athlete, Holland showed some flashes of productivity with Ignite, but also demonstrated flaws in his game. Some of these issues were personnel related; there were very few players on the roster that could spread the floor and shoot from deep. Still, Holland struggled mightily with his efficiency from beyond the arc, where he shot 24%, connecting on 0.9 per 3.6 attempts per game.

Regardless, his 20.6 points led the team, and his ability to score inside the arc was recognized as the Pistons selected him fifth overall. While Holland has a ton of ability and could easily become a good-to-great NBA player, the question is not so much about his particular skill, but more about fit on the roster.

The Detroit Pistons were last in the league in three-pointers made per game at 11.0 and were 24th in three-point percentage at 34.9%. Outside of Marcus Sasser and Alec Burks, no rotational players for Detroit shot the ball from distance with any level of consistency. When a team lacks real shooting threats, at least ones that can spread the floor on a regular basis, offenses become stagnant, which causes far-reaching issues with the general flow on that end.

Holland, for all of his strengths, does not address this problem. Additionally, Holland plays a combo forward position very similar to that of teammate Ausar Thompson, and though Thompson has been held out recently due to a blood clot issue, upon his return, the combination may be too clunky to work.

The other thought would be to play Holland at the four, but his size is a limiting factor here. He stands in the 6-foot-6 to 6-foot-7 range and weighs just 195 pounds. According to DraftExpress, the average size of a power forward in the 2024 draft class was 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds. While his athleticism is spectacular, he is giving up weight and height to most players at that position.

While the Pistons added Tim Hardaway Jr. to help address the shooting woes, his sole presence won't be enough to change the spacing issues that have plagued Detroit for years now. It will likely require some major moves to be made to turn things around, and though they do have some young and talented players, the fits do not seem like they make much sense.

It may come down to a competition between Ron Holland and Ausar Thompson in the end due to the fact that they are somewhat similar players in similar typecasts. If that is the case, the Pistons may have to move on from one of them. If they can however develop some shooting around the two, they may have a really good one-two punch with wings a la the champion Boston Celtics. But Detroit has a a long way to go before they can think about competing for an NBA Title.

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