Cade Cunningham

[yoyoboy]

When Cade focuses on scoring and in particular shooting, he's at his best. I think he's a fairly high floor guy with his size, shooting ability, and vision, as it's hard not to see him being at least a high-level starter at the SF position.

I just don't think he'll be the kind of superstar offensive orchestrator other people see in him. And a wing who can't consistently get to the rim or pass like an elite PG has a ceiling on his value. He doesn't project to be an elite defender either, though I think he can be solid on that end.

[Roddy B for 3]

Idr if its "hoops intellect" or "nbadraft junkies" on youtube,but one of those two has a great sequemce of Cade one handed passes.

Cade wont elite as a create passer, but he throws darts, accurately. He's an EXCELLENT point A-B passer. He area passes just before they happen and he gets the ball exactly in the shooters comfort zone.

Imo the highest knock on him is his ability to drive and kick and drive and finish.

I think he'll be a great finisher at the rim, with his touch and size. Can he get last the initial defender though? Of course he can. The NBA court is open AF. NCAA is never as open as NBA. I might be wrong, but are NCAA court diminaions not thinner than NBA? Plus NBA shooting is garbage compared to NBA. OKst is particularly a terrible floor spacing team outside of Cade.

Cade remunds me of 2011 JKidd. Passes the ball around the perimeter, high IQ, great pass control, great floor spacer. The difference is 2011 JKidd was a total joke under the rim. He could get to the rim, but would literally dribble in go under the rim and dribble backnout to the perimeter because he would 100% get his shot blocked. Cade will be able to elevate and finish there.

So Cade is like 6'8" 2011 JKidd with really good ability to finish at the rim (for his PG positon).

23/8/5 on 50/40/80 shooting with really good positional (PG) defense.

Cade at SF next to a guy like Kemba could be real fun on offense if they develop good chemistry, but now you have a negative defensive player. If you play Cade at PG you have the ability to have 4wings + a C and that could be a dope AF defense.

[peZt]

When Cade focuses on scoring and in particular shooting, he's at his best. I think he's a fairly high floor guy with his size, shooting ability, and vision, as it's hard not to see him being at least a high-level starter at the SF position.

I just don't think he'll be the kind of superstar offensive orchestrator other people see in him. And a wing who can't consistently get to the rim or pass like an elite PG has a ceiling on his value. He doesn't project to be an elite defender either, though I think he can be solid on that end.

I don't see him as a high floor guy. Like at all, to me he is clearly a bust or boom type of guy.
With that kind of limited athleticism your skill level really needs to be incredibly high to overcome that disadvantage. If it is, you can be as dominant as Luka, if it isn't, then you're looking at a Evan Turner type of guy.
But even Luka is way more athletic than Cade and way more skilled as well. At least he has his shot going for him.
That's too much of a risk for me at the #1 spot when you have like 3 other elite prospects on the line who are as safe as it gets.

[916fan]

I don't see him as a high floor guy. Like at all, to me he is clearly a bust or boom type of guy.
With that kind of limited athleticism your skill level really needs to be incredibly high to overcome that disadvantage. If it is, you can be as dominant as Luka, if it isn't, then you're looking at a Evan Turner type of guy.
But even Luka is way more athletic than Cade and way more skilled as well. At least he has his shot going for him.
That's too much of a risk for me at the #1 spot when you have like 3 other elite prospects on the line who are as safe as it gets.

Who are the "safe" prospects you're talking about? Cade is almost as safe as it gets... 6'8 SF who can shoot the ball.

[916fan]

I don't really see anyone who's bringing up a Luka or Ben Simmons comparison, and if they are, I think they are watching a different player?

Cade is a traditional SF and has never been anything else. I'm not sure how you can knock him down points for that. With Cade, I think the only thing we're really discussing here is his ceiling. How high can it be? With his average athleticism, can he do enough as a shot creator to negate an average first-step?

I think Jalen Green has a higher potential because of his pure scoring ability+athleticism. It'll be interesting to see ESPN's draft board after the tournament and closer to the draft. They have a great feel for how NBA teams feel about these guys.

[reamily]

Is cade really 6'8? the reason he was that high is because is his potential to play 1 and defend 1 guys the 6'8 as his ceiling in terms of height is just an added bonus, at this level of competition a 6'8 guy is a 1 to 5 player.

[DCasey91]

His shooting profile and his leadership qualities are the best part about Cade’s game for me.
Never saw him as the primary option at all not with his athletic profile/demeanor/scoring/ballhandling/ creating toolbox.
I get the Ben type mentality to score but they are way different type of archetypes here.
Cade is definitely a small forward at the next level.
Sure if he was a Giannis type freak athleticism yeah no question number one pick by a mile superstar
generational talent.

20/7/4 Wing is my fair est on him. (Polished Barrett with less scoring aggressiveness but offset by his shooting profile).

I know he doesn’t haven’t the profile of a top 5 premier wing in the NBA but that’s fine by me. He’s got great intangibles much like Suggs.

The top 5 are all very arguable and aren’t Luka/Davis/James level but those are extremely rare.

Best quality for each

Suggs - Leadership easily see him hoisting up a banner before his career is over
Cade - Leadership too, big wing that can shoot/pass/secondary handle are always premium in the NBA
Green - Freak Athlete, pure scorers mentality
Mobley - Multi faceted PF/C, with All NBA defensive potential
Kuminga- Once again elite athlete, Oversized wing/pf Rudy Gay type with elite defensive potential
Can handle/defend/create/score though his shot needs work, but he’s by far the youngest and he comes from wonderful stock/background so if he has a Siakam/Giannis rapid learning curve watch out.

[SmoothLefty21]

Yeah, a guy who is 6'8" and can shoot the ball has a safe floor. Cade will be in the NBA for a long time. I can't wait to see him in the league though. A lot of people questioned LaMelo's athleticism, ability to get past defenders, etc. Cade's athleticism is a concern but he's another player who'll be a better fit into the NBA's style of play.

[NO-KG-AI]

I think he’s definitely a safe bet to be better than 20/4 assists. That’s such a low bar in todays NBA. He has never looked like a generational talent to me, but he’s a contender for #1 in any class that doesn’t have a generational guy, and I think he’s closer to mid 20’s scoring and 6-8 assists than he is to putting up Terry Rozier numbers.

I think he could blend the best parts of Pierce’s style and B-Roy’s lead guard, ability to flip the switch into lead scorer style and be a top talent, but he’s not a sure thing... though like I said, I’m more than comfy thinking he’ll put up a lot more than 20/7/4.


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[DCasey91]

Yeah, a guy who is 6'8" and can shoot the ball has a safe floor. Cade will be in the NBA for a long time. I can't wait to see him in the league though. A lot of people questioned LaMelo's athleticism, ability to get past defenders, etc. Cade's athleticism is a concern but he's another player who'll be a better fit into the NBA's style of play.

Lamelo has elite as hell measurables for a Pure Pg which he most certainly is moreso than Cade by some distance. High motor, High IQ, Plays with infectious energy just like his brother. Zippy, long , and oversized for a Pure PG.
He’s handle alone is very very impressive.

As long as the shot transferred he has all star talent (playmaking/passing/handle he has that it factor watching him in the NBL imo more than Cade ).

Giddey is like a lesser version of Ball
Or Ingram to Durant. The trouble there is there’s more bust potential but you get the great side too.
Suspect shot, (never bought into the idea of Ball being a bad defender he’s just like his brother he’ll be fine in fact was very good for a rookie), Giddey is defeintly suspect defender.

But the size handle, passing, playmaking is all there for Giddey as a pure pg, he’s more composed but less of an athlete than Ball at the same age.

But yeah as with another poster
20/7/4 is what I have Cade at. He doesn’t look 6”8” at all. He’ll be solid not generational stuff because he doesn’t have huge outliers except for his leadership potential and shooting profile they’ve always been my favorite attributes with Cade more than his toolbox/athletic set.

Paul Pierce 2.0 is still a really damn good player.

[Big J]

Just realized who this kid reminds me of, Turkoglu! He can pass, shoot, and dribble a bit, but lacks athleticism and has a la za faire attitude. You can’t really count on that guy taking over a game, but we will see if he has Turks clutch gene. I’m trading down with 1.

[BostonCouchGM]

it's laughable that people claim he has average athleticism. Just embarrassing. Kid can effortlessly do windmill and between the legs dunks. He's smooth and doesn't ever really expend the energy necessary to show off but he's a well above average athlete. Speed, quickness and body control are also aspects of athleticism and he is well above average in all those.

Watch on YouTube

[yoyoboy]

it's laughable that people claim he has average athleticism. Just embarrassing. Kid can effortlessly do windmill and between the legs dunks. He's smooth and doesn't ever really expend the energy necessary to show off but he's a well above average athlete. Speed, quickness and body control are also aspects of athleticism and he is well above average in all those.

Watch on YouTube

When people talk about his athleticism you realize they're comparing him in the context of other NBA caliber athletes right?

The fact he can do a between the legs dunk is irrelevant. How is that useful in terms of making an impact in the league? The fact of the matter is it's been very apparent all season and especially yesterday that when he's matched up against NBA-level athletes he struggles to drive past them, and it's unreal how many times he has to resort to that little slow motion shoulder/back into the defender from the 3 pt line, do a half spin, and take that awful mid range one-handed push shot. His first step and high dribble prevent him from being a true lead playmaker at the NBA level. Even in college he looks his best when he's just isolating above the break for a pullup three or playing off the ball to try to get himself an open look.

That's not to say he's not a goof prospect. It's just important to realize what his strengths and weaknesses are, and then play him in his optimal role. He's a scorer (and particularly a fantastic shooter) who also can be a solid secondary playmaker - not someone who should be running your offense.

[EvanZ]

it's laughable that people claim he has average athleticism. Just embarrassing. Kid can effortlessly do windmill and between the legs dunks. He's smooth and doesn't ever really expend the energy necessary to show off but he's a well above average athlete. Speed, quickness and body control are also aspects of athleticism and he is well above average in all those.

Watch on YouTube

Landry Shame through the legs dunk. Surprised me because I don't think of him as an incredible athlete or anything.

Watch on YouTube

;t=1s&ab_channel=Ballislife

[reamily]

One thing going for cade, that shot look textbook..can be relied upon during stretch..

[Upperclass]

Pretty sure there will be an injury explanation for his struggles soon released by his camp.. a back injury or spams or whatever they use in the avg prospect playbook

[TouchPassDario]

Cade gives me big Khris Middleton vibes.

[jman3134]

Why does he need to release a statement about playing poorly? He had almost 0 help in the NCAAs, and coach sat Boone for a good portion of the game. When he almost single handedly led a charge back, no one else assisted him, and OK St made a ton of errors defensively against Thompson. And I am by no means a huge Cade Cunningham fan relative to some of the other guys in this draft.

[Coeur]

The Evan Turner similarities are the biggest risks to his chances of becoming a star/superstar level player. When so much of what he does against NCAA players “looks hard” he may or may not be able to do the same type things against nba players


I think it boils down to “creating space”

I’m 50/50 on Cunningham because of my worries about whether he will be able to create the space needed for his game against nba defenders.

[No-Man]

The Evan Turner similarities are the biggest risks to his chances of becoming a star/superstar level player. When so much of what he does against NCAA players “looks hard” he may or may not be able to do the same type things against nba players

The what?