A pair of young Pistons are done for the season, the team announced Wednesday.
Rookie wing Ausar Thompson (blood clot) and fourth-year center Isaiah Stewart (hamstring) will miss the remainder of the year, piling more bad news on top of what has been a brutal year for Detroit.
Thompson, the Pistons’ 5th overall pick in last year’s NBA Draft, has been sidelined since March 9 with what was initially described as an “illness.”
The team said Wednesday, under the guidance of team physician Dr. Ramsey Shehab of Henry Ford Health, the 20-year-old “has been cleared to resume conditioning and will begin non-contact basketball activities at the conclusion of the regular season with a gradual ramp up over the summer months in preparation for a full return next season.”
Thompson will finish his rookie year averaging 8.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game across 63 appearances.
Thompson shot 48.3% from the floor and 18.6% from 3-point range in his rookie campaign, in which he made good on the draft-night billing of being a good defender. Thompson showed flashes of his defensive prowess while often taking on the toughest defensive assignments and racked up 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.
Stewart, meanwhile, is being shut down for the season after suffering a hamstring strain in the third quarter of Monday’s loss at Boston.
He averaged 10.9 PPG and 6.6 RPG in his fourth season with the Pistons, one that saw a number of injuries, as well as a suspension for a pre-game altercation with the Suns’ Drew Eubanks.
The team also announced Wednesday it has signed forward/center Chimezie Metu to a 10-day contract.
The 6-foot-9 Metu is a five-year NBA veteran out of USC, and has appeared in 246 career games (31 starts) for San Antonio, Sacramento and Phoenix. He holds career averages of 5.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 0.7 APG and 0.4 BPG in 12.8 minutes per game. Metu appeared in 37 games (five starts) for the Suns this season.
The Pistons (12-56) host the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night, looking to snap a three-game losing streak.