Midway through his rookie season, Ausar Thompson has filled a variety of roles for the Detroit Pistons. He has been one of the team’s best defenders and rebounders while also performing as a capable playmaker at forward.

His unique athleticism has led the coaching staff to experiment with his usage. Lately, that has involved Thompson taking on a role usually reserved for bigs — screening and rolling.

The 6-foot-6 forward has shown upside in pick-and-roll situations. Thompson’s ball-handling and passing makes him a natural fit as an initiator, but his leaping ability also enables him to finish such plays. Head coach Monty Williams first spoke of using him in short roll situations in early December, and the arrival via trade of two floor-spacing bigs in Mike Muscala and Danilo Gallinari — who can force opposing bigs to vacate the paint — has since allowed the staff to utilize Thompson as a roller more frequently.

“Any time you have guys that shoot the ball, it allows, one, for spacing, and two, when you think of the bigs who can dive and shoot, it keeps the defensive big thinking,” Williams said after practice Friday. “He could be in a drop coverage, and he’s gotta worry about getting back to a popping big. For us, though, it’s also the combination of putting those guys with Ausar at times because he can be the roller, and you can space the bigger guy. When teams are putting the bigger guy on Ausar, sometimes it allows for you to get some rebounds because they gotta put a smaller guy on your bigs. I think there’s levels to it. Certainly something we’re going to explore and experiment with just to see what else we learn from it.”

Using Thompson as a roller not only plays to his strengths, but protects him from his weaknesses as well. The rookie has hit just 15.3% of his 3-pointers, the lowest percentage of any player with at least 70 attempts this season (and 8.6 percentage points worse than the next-worst player). Thompson often finds himself alone in the corner when the ball isn’t in his hands, which can cause Detroit’s offense to sag, with defenders playing several feet off of him and crowding the paint.

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As a screener, defenses have no choice but to account for him. He’s an above-the-rim finisher who can also whip the ball to shooters or find his big underneath. It weaponizes his passing and natural gravity as a driver.

“I feel very confident in the paint,” Thompson said on Dec. 11. “As I’m trying to expand my game, all my life I’ve been a get-to-the-rim guy. I can shoot 3s too, but get to the rim first. I feel very confident in that area. I’m still learning. We had to go through a lot this morning and yesterday, but I’m still learning how to screen and roll.”

The coaching staff believes Thompson will improve as a shooter, which of course would make him even more of a threat in pick-and-rolls. Williams used four-time All-Star Shawn Marion, who Thompson shares some similarities in skills with, as an example of how dangerous it can be when an athletic, screen-setting forward can also knock down 3-pointers. Marion was a key cog in the up-tempo Phoenix Suns offenses a decade and a half ago.

“I just remember him being in pick-and-rolls with Boris (Diaw), and Boris handled the ball and Shawn was rolling, and you were looking at the bench like, 'What do you do with that?' " Williams said. “Ausar, the numbers say that when he’s in the pick-and-roll, it’s not necessarily him scoring. It’s just the offense that we generate off of that and the quality of shots that can get for us.

“As his shot continues to improve, it just gives him another element to his game that will allow for him to be tougher to guard. I’m hopeful that he’ll be able to do it in transition, where he can just run up. We had one with (Bojan Bogdanovic) the other day. Bogey had the ball, Ausar set the screen and hit a layup or dunk at the rim. It’s something we have to explore.”

Even if the shot doesn’t come around, screen-setting could become a staple of Thompson’s game. He’s quick enough that when defenders give him space, he can still sometimes blow past them and get to the rim because of his speed. But there are longterm questions about the viability of Thompson’s screening, as his lack of shooting could complicate his fit next to non-shooting, rim-running centers such as Jalen Duren.

For now, the Pistons are happy to continue experimenting.

“As he begins to shoot the ball better, the way he does in practice, that’s what gives us a lot of confidence in him going forward,” Williams said last week. “One, who he is, the skillset, his strength and quickness. But when we watch him shoot in practice, it’s like, ‘One day it’s going to click.’ He’s finding out how to adapt to the space that teams are giving him.

“We hope he continues to grow that part of his game.”

Exhibition honors Pistons’ championships

On Friday night, a select group of Detroit Historical Society members and Pistons season ticket-holders saw a preview of an exhibit showcasing the Pistons’ past success.

The Detroit Historical Museum’s newest exhibition, Thirty-Five|20, honors the 35th anniversary of the Pistons’ 1989 championship and 20th anniversary of their most recent title in 2004. It features “significant and surprising artifacts” from both title runs, according to the museum’s website.

The exhibition officially opened to the public on Saturday. Fans attending the Pistons’ matinee against the Washington Wizards on Saturday can show a digital ticket stub at the museum, located a few blocks north on Woodward Avenue, for free admission to the exhibit this weekend.

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.

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Next up: Wizards

Matchup: Pistons (5-39) vs. Washington (7-36).

Tipoff: Noon Saturday; Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.

TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons rookie Ausar Thompson showing upside as a screener