Cade Cunningham is establishing himself as a key player on an exciting Detroit Pistons team.
The Detroit Pistons are no longer the ‘no man’s land’ they were when Blake Griffin was traded to the team in 2018.
This season the Pistons are .500 with a 19-19 record that places them eighth in the Eastern Conference, on course for a play-in berth.
They are being tipped to strengthen before the NBA trade deadline – even if one prediction they could join the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes seems like a stretch.
The Detroit Pistons’ improvement can be pointed to two reasons, one being head coach JB Bickerstaff, who is getting the most out of their roster.
The other is that the roster is very talented, led by former number one overall draft pick Cade Cunningham, who was the most sought after player in the 2021 draft.
This season is shaping up as Cade Cunningham’s best year yet, with Draymond Green labelling him a ‘definite All-Star’ and comparing him to Luka Doncic.
And this takes us back to the very night Cade Cunningham was drafted, when he was asked a difficult question before he played a single NBA minute.
It referred to the night being overshadowed to some, by the LA Lakers making a trade for Russell Westbrook.
Cunningham was asked in his introductory press conference: “Somewhere down the road, a year, two years, 10 years this is going to be remembered that Russell Westbrook got traded to the Lakers or the night Cade Cunningham got drafted by the Pistons. Which is it going to be and why?”
The number one overall pick had a definitive response, making clear that the night would be remembered for the right reasons as far as he was concerned.
He said: “I think it will be Cade Cunningham’s night, that he got drafted by the Pistons, because when people look back, that will be the start of whenever the Pistons restored their franchise and brought greatness back to the city.
“That’s my whole goal stepping into Detroit, to restore that city. They’ve already had championship teams.
“They’ve already witnessed greatness. I want to be able to bring that back to the city.”
Approaching three years on since draft night in 2021, Cade Cunningham’s response is holding up.
Russell Westbrook’s spell on the LA Lakers was miserable for all concerned, with the team happy to move him onto the Clippers in 2023. He is now starring for the Denver Nuggets after signing in free agency last year.
But even if Westbrook had performed well in LA, Cade Cunningham is holding up his end of the bargain.
Cunningham is performing at a high level, averaging 24.3 points per game this season and 9.3 assists pg.
He put up 32 points against the Warriors on January 9, and earlier this year he scored 40 on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Cunningham is leading the restoration of the Detroit Pistons, and while he has a way to go before he delivers a championship as he truly intends, he has already helped bring some pride back into a once great franchise.
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