The Detroit Pistons‘ regular seasons kicks off Wednesday, October 23, against the Indiana Pacers at Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit. Last season, the Detroit Pistons hit what’s hopefully rock bottom with only 14 wins and, at one time during the season, 28 consecutive losses. But, there’s new life in the team, and Detroit is coming into the season with a new team president in Trajan Langdon, new head coach in J.B. Bickerstaff and new staffers in the front office and coaching staff.
One difference maker for the Pistons going into the 2024-25 season could be star point guard Cade Cunningham.
Cade Cunningham Could Hold the Key for the Detroit Pistons
While the new coaching staff and front office support will bring a freshness to the Detroit Pistons, possibly nothing tops the importance of Cunningham being healthy and ready to go.
In an October 23 feature for the Detroit Free Press, Pistons analyst and expert Omari Sankofa II writes about the value of Cunningham, explaining that “the biggest swing factor in the Pistons’ ongoing efforts to put a winning team on the floor is Cunningham. The former first-overall pick has shown star flashes. He’s also been hampered by injuries and deficient rosters.”
He added, “Compared to past years, Cunningham is entering the season opener with momentum. An ankle sprain cost him all of training camp and preseason as a rookie. He was hampered by a stress fracture in his left shin in 2022-23, appearing in 12 games before the team shut him down. Following surgery that December, he spent the following offseason rehabbing.”
After rehab, Sankofa II notes that Cunningham “shot 40.3% overall and 33% from 3 during his first 16 games. He also turned the ball over at a league-high rate, committing 4.8 per game with 7.1 assists.”
Cade Cunningham ‘Looks Ready to Take Another Step Forward’
Cunningham is in Detroit for the long haul. Heading into year four in Detroit, he has a new maximum rookie extension for $224 million over five years, keeping him with the Pistons through the 2029-30 season.
Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus was not hot on the Pistons’ max extension for Cunningham, giving it a C-minus grade.
“It’s not that Cunningham isn’t as good as the other three maxed-out players, but the Pistons may not be good enough to lock in one cornerstone piece,” Pincus stated. “Is there a tangible danger that one of the few teams with cap space in 2025 would issue a max offer sheet to Cunningham? Just a minor one, and Detroit would still have had the right of first refusal. The Pistons are absorbing all the risk after a 14-win season.”
Kevin McCornick of Sports Illustrated is a bit more positive, saying the Pistons “made a huge investment into Cunningham this offseason, signing him to a five-year max contract extension” and that “now, it’s on him to show that the front office made the right decision by cementing him as a pillar for the franchise.”
“Based on how he looked in preseason, Cunningham looks ready to take another step forward in year four,” McCornick added in an October 23 feature. “He had multiple impressive outings, including a near triple-double against the Phoenix Suns. Cunningham now has to take this momentum and carry into Wednesday as Detroit aims to pick up a win against Tyrese Haliburton and company.”
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