Ausar Thompson to Join Detroit Pistons After Emerging First Round 5th Pick

Every year, the NBA Draft is one of the most anticipated moments outside the playoffs and the finals. This year, it wasn’t any less exciting, although many draft picks turned out to be quite predictable.

Victor Wembanyama emerged the star of the Draft as he was first pick, shipped to San Antonio Spurs. This comes as no surprise to anyone as Michigan NBA betting sites placed odds of -20000 on him to be first pick favorite.

The Detroit Pistons also had a good outing landing two players and trading off former FC Barcelona player, James Nnaji to the Charlotte Hornets.

This year, the NBA Draft took place on Thursday, June 22 in New York, with the two rounds coming to an impressive end. For the Detroit Pistons, they made quite some lucrative business, landing some important players to bolster their squad. In the first round, they landed Ausar Thompson, one of the Thompson twins, both of whom have been Overtime Elite sensations.

Going into the Draft day, Michigan sportsbooks placed odds of +600, +225 and +185 on Ausar Thompson to emerge third-favorite for the Houston Rockets, second-favorite pick for the Pistons, and favorite pick for Orlando Magic, respectively. However, with the Rockets picking ahead of the Pistons and selecting Amen Thompson, the Detroit-based basketball team made no hesitations going for the twin.

In other business, the Pistons drafted Nigerian international, James Nnaji as the 31st pick in the second round. However, a trade saw him head to the Charlotte Hornets after the NBA deal exchanged draft rights to Mouhamed Gueye and Colby Jones for him with the Boston Celtics.

The Pistons wrapped up the Draft by acquiring rights to Marcus Sasser who was 25th pick for the Grizzlies. Sasser, who has spent four seasons playing at Houston would bring his elite shooting and dribbling to Detroit next season.

All eyes now turn to the regular season of the NBA which is scheduled to start in October 2023. Dwayne Casey announced his resignation as Pistons coach in April 2023 after transitioning to the team’s front office. Monty Williams has since stepped in to take over affairs.

The success of the offseason will be pivotal to the Pistons season. After ending the season with a loss to Chicago Bull, the Pistons had a 20.7% winning percentage in the 2022-23 season. This was the seventh straight season that the team did not have a winning record.

However, with a fairly good draft pick and the hopes that their coaching selection lives up to expectations, the Pistons may have a shot at redeeming their image in the upcoming NBA season.

In other news, a Michigan player named Leo Taffe has clinched the championship title at the BetMGM Poker Championship that held in the second week of June. Taffe, a 24-year-old based in Ann Arbor won a grand prize of $560,442 from a prize pool of $3.2 million.

“It feels amazing,” Taffe said, commenting on his win. “To be able to run deep in a tournament like this is really cool. I’m exhausted to be honest. It’s just starting to settle in. I’ll take a few hours to celebrate, but there is more I want to accomplish.”

BetMGM Poker wasn’t Taffe’s first big win. He emerged winner of $28,400 at the WSOP Main Event back in 2022. Other big players were also winners at the BetMGM Poker Championship. They included Stephen Song, the Global Poker Index Player of the Year who clinched fourth position, winning $188,193.

The news of the poker championship came barely a week after MGM Resorts International was listed as the highest-ranked gaming conglomerate in the 2023 Forbes Global 2000. The company ranked 596th out of a total of 2,000.

Matt Buckley, President of Midwest Group, MGM Resorts International said the following in a press release after the recognition:

“We are immensely proud to see MGM Resorts recognized as the top gaming company on the prestigious Forbes 2000 list. Here at MGM Grand Detroit, our team members are committed to delivering unparalleled experiences to our valued guests, and this accolade is a testament of their hard work and dedication.”

MGM Resorts International is the operator of MGM Grand Detroit, BetMGM Sportsbook MI and the online casino.