The Detroit Pistons have locked in their young star, signing Cade Cunningham to a five-year, $224 million rookie maximum extension. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the deal could be worth up to $269 million if Cunningham meets incentives.
The Pistons finished a league-worst 14-68 in 2023-2024, and recently brought in former Cleveland Cavaliers’ head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to be their new head coach. New President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon presumably wanted to start with a clean slate, the reason for letting go Monty Williams in favor of Bickerstaff.
Despite their inept records over the past two seasons - the Pistons won only 17 games in 2022-2023 - there is a young team in Detroit and that is filled with young talent and some, like Cunningham, with limitless potential.
Cunningham averaged 22.7 points, 7.5 assists, and 4.3 rebounds on 45 percent shooting this past season, and has career averages of 20 points, 6.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds on 43 percent from the field, 33 percent from three-point range, and 86 percent from the line.
He will turn 23 in September and will be the leader of a young group that includes wings Jaden Ivey and Ausar Thompson, along with big man Jalen Duren. The Pistons also brought in Tobias Harris, who previously played in Detroit from 2016-2018, on a two-year, $52 million deal. The 31-year-old spent the past five seasons in Philadelphia and will provide veteran leadership.
The Pistons will go as far as their young star takes them though, and Langdon made sure that their best shot going forward will be with Cunningham leading the pack.
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