Cade Cunningham - Any Concerns?

[CptCrunch]

Looks like the picture is clearing up in year 3. Cade is following the path of Wiggins. Will end up as a good third option on his second contract assuming the Pistons don't max him.

Busting hard as a 1st pick.

[Mr Peanut]

Looks like the picture is clearing up in year 3. Cade is following the path of Wiggins. Will end up as a good third option on his second contract assuming the Pistons don't max him.

Busting hard as a 1st pick.

Can a picture really be cleared up after 87 career games?

[Exp0sed]

Looks like the picture is clearing up in year 3. Cade is following the path of Wiggins. Will end up as a good third option on his second contract assuming the Pistons don't max him.

Busting hard as a 1st pick.

Can a picture really be cleared up after 87 career games?

can u name "stars" that were this inefficient after 87 career games but ended up as stars?
there are a couple, sure but not more than that. it's unlikely at this point that he's gonna turn it around, at least as a first option

first option guys, generally speaking, do not struggle this badly for 87 games over 3 seasons.

[HumbleRen]

Looks like the picture is clearing up in year 3. Cade is following the path of Wiggins. Will end up as a good third option on his second contract assuming the Pistons don't max him.

Busting hard as a 1st pick.

Can a picture really be cleared up after 87 career games?

No but I think we can safely say, whatever the player that the pre draft had painted of Cade is long and gone. His lack of burst and athleticism will never allow him to reach those heights.

I still think he’s going to be really good though, just not main franchise piece good.

[Mr Peanut]

Looks like the picture is clearing up in year 3. Cade is following the path of Wiggins. Will end up as a good third option on his second contract assuming the Pistons don't max him.

Busting hard as a 1st pick.

Can a picture really be cleared up after 87 career games?

No but I think we can safely say, whatever the player that the pre draft had painted of Cade is long and gone. His lack of burst and athleticism will never allow him to reach those heights.

I still think he’s going to be really good though, just not main franchise piece good.

I don't think any Pistons fans are out here saying he has been as good as advertised when he was drafted. But I think those of us who have suffered the ignonimy of watching most of the Pistons games over the last few years have seen enough flashes from Cade to see the talent there and the potential to be a viable #1 option (the second half of his rookie season having a lot of key examples). Unfortunately it's been a career plagued by both injury and a poorly constructed roster surrounding him. At the end of the day those may just be viewed as excuses, but they are relevant to the discussion.

I guess I'm willing to give him at least until the end of his rookie contract to prove the kind of player he is (or can be) before labeling him as a second or third option or putting a cap on his ceiling. I know that's not a popular outlook to have in RealGM discussions where instant gratification seems to be the constant pursuit though.

[HumbleRen]

Can a picture really be cleared up after 87 career games?

No but I think we can safely say, whatever the player that the pre draft had painted of Cade is long and gone. His lack of burst and athleticism will never allow him to reach those heights.

I still think he’s going to be really good though, just not main franchise piece good.

I don't think any Pistons fans are out here saying he has been as good as advertised when he was drafted. But I think those of us who have suffered the ignonimy of watching most of the Pistons games over the last few years have seen enough flashes from Cade to see the talent there and the potential to be a viable #1 option (the second half of his rookie season having a lot of key examples). Unfortunately it's been a career plagued by both injury and a poorly constructed roster surrounding him. At the end of the day those may just be viewed as excuses, but they are relevant to the discussion.

I guess I'm willing to give him at least until the end of his rookie contract to prove the kind of player he is (or can be) before labeling him as a second or third option or putting a cap on his ceiling. I know that's not a popular outlook to have in RealGM discussions where instant gratification seems to be the constant pursuit though.

We’ve Ben Simmons miss his rookie year and come back an all star caliber player. Same with Blake Griffin. Even Chet is a high impact player after missing a year.

Injuries and missing games aren’t the reason why he can’t draw free throws, this has been an issue even dating back to his College days, his turnovers as well.

I don’t think anyone should be writing him off as an individual talent and I think wanting to see a larger sample size is fair.

[MrBigShot]

his performance has been downright awful unfortunately and there's no sugar coating it, can only hope he picks it up as the year goes on

[GrandTheftRondo]

I think if you thought he was a bonafide number one option superstar in the making you would have seen it by now.

He can definitely be an impactful player in the league.

But athletically he’s not explosive enough to get by his man consistently and his jumper isn’t good enough to score effortlessly.

[hippesthippo]

No, I'm more concerned about why the hell Killian Hayes is getting so many minutes.

Cade has a terrible FT/r and can't create enough space by himself to get decent shots off. Neither issue is something we didn't already know about and those aren't things that magically fix themselves in the NBA.

It doesn't mean he can't be a good player, or even an All-Star in the league. All it means to me right now is that the team is still terribly constructed and that Cade isn't a franchise level player. This shouldn't be news to anyone.

Thompson, Duren, and Stewart are all good young players. Hayes has been... better this year than in the past, which still isn't saying much.

Very few players are going to be leading a decent offense by themselves with that starting line-up. No surprise here that Cade isn't in that category. This isn't the 2000's and Cade isn't Lebron James.

Throw Ivey's name into the mix and the team has plenty of young talent. The fit is just an absolute mess right now.

They need to run more plays with Cade off the ball where he can generate space off movement and they need to put some shooters on the floor... if they want to win basketball games.

It's unclear to me if we're still trying to tank, or if we are actually trying to win this year. I thought we'd be going for the latter, but as of now it looks much more like the former.

[Sane]

Good player in a completely wrong role. He's a slightly undersized SF who can get by other SF's, defend relatively well and function as the second playmaker in the starting lineup. He cannot beat guards off the dribble and he cannot be efficient when the opponent's defense can focus on him so much. In that SF role, I believe he'd be a great player worth the max or near it. An elite 1B in the same tier as Jaylen Brown. That's a great draft pick.

That makes Ivey the PG. I think both of them can benefit from splitting PG duties in half. Ivey is still learning but has shown flashes of promise.

That means at SG you need a rugged veteran 3&D guy who does the dirty work. At C you have Duren so your scoring will be very limited for the time being (good backups in Bagley and Wiseman). Which means their big need is a max-worthy player at PF.

It sucks that after all the tanking they don't have a 1A. My inkling is that - given how many minutes they are playing Bagley/Wiseman - the Pistons know they still don't have a 1A and are happy to continue to tank this season. I think that's why they had to pay Monty so much money.

[timO]

he shoots poorly

5TO

[Special_Puppy]

How long until people see Ausar as the future of the franchise instead of Cade?

[pipfan]

I watched him closely against my Bulls recently, and I see the concern. I was REALLY high on him, but hadn't watched too closely-just highlights. He does lack that burst that superstars need. I think he probably becomes a marginal All Star type-which is still a VERY good player-just not a superstar

[NatiboyB]

I’m curious to see how Cade looks once the players who are injured like Monte and Bojan return. What I’d like to see is Cade transition largely into a secondary playmaker and allow the game to come to him. Playing him off ball for about 24 minutes a night next to Morris. With Bojan and others being able to score a bit or should allow him to let the game come to him and not force things.

Do the Pistons have any ability to maybe consolidate a few of their players yes possibly Ivy since it seems they don’t want to play him for someone who is more of a wing scorer?

My ideal usage for Cade is at a secondary playmaker and scoring option. Playing along side Ausar/Jalen and surrounded by 3 other players who can stretch the floor consistently with hopefully one of them being someone who can put up 16-18 a night. Hoped 2 way type players.

[UcanUwill]

How long until people see Ausar as the future of the franchise instead of Cade?

Ausar and Duren are the players worth a damn. Ausar has been flat out unbelievable, I said in game thread, with marketing, that kid could be ROY, but it seems like ROY race runners were set before season even started.

[kg01]

How long until people see Ausar as the future of the franchise instead of Cade?

Ausar and Duren are the players worth a damn. Ausar has been flat out unbelievable, I said in game thread, with marketing, that kid could be ROY, but it seems like ROY race runners were set before season even started.

I was so impressed watching him for the first time last night.

I legit thought Cunningham was point-shaving. Surely he can't be that listless. Is he injured and we just don't know it?

[Godymas]

i see a lot of concern based on the Bulls game that recently transpired.

I get the feeling that he just isn't that guy to be a #1 or #2 option and he might actually end up just being a serviceable starter at best.

[Yuri Vaultin]

Looks like the picture is clearing up in year 3. Cade is following the path of Wiggins. Will end up as a good third option on his second contract assuming the Pistons don't max him.

Busting hard as a 1st pick.

Can a picture really be cleared up after 87 career games?

can u name "stars" that were this inefficient after 87 career games but ended up as stars?
there are a couple, sure but not more than that. it's unlikely at this point that he's gonna turn it around, at least as a first option

first option guys, generally speaking, do not struggle this badly for 87 games over 3 seasons.

Darius Garland had an awful start to his career. Same with Billups. There are a few others that come to mind. This is ostensibly his 2nd season due to injuries. Their third season is typically when the game slows down and players come in to their own.

[Saints14]

Read on Twitter

The other disappointing thing about Cade that I don't see mentioned enough is that right around when he was drafted he was revealed to be 6'6", when for like a year leading up to the draft he was reportedly 6'8". The sell at the time was that his upside was Luka Doncic and if he wasn't good enough to be that primary engine, he could still be Khris Middleton. Him being SG sized instead of solid wing sized makes a lot of difference - with the limitations he's shown so far I think the Pistons should be thinking of him as their SG of the future and keep looking for their lead guard (maybe Ivey is that guy but I wouldn't bet on it). His 3P% has been low in the NBA but if he can shoot it better in more of an off-ball role, then it's possible the secondary creator outcome is still on the table. But nobody should be thinking of him as a future star anymore

[Jadoogar]

Cade is averaging the same TS% as Killian Hayes. One is considered a massive bust with no offensive ability and the other is considered an elite prospect