Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons have come to terms on a new five-year, $226 million maximum rookie extension, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
After recently hiring former Cleveland Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff to take over for Monty Williams, who was fired after just one season, Cunningham will now be playing for his third different head coach since joining the league in 2021. Through the years, Cunningham had established himself as the pinnacle of the Pistons franchise, resulting in new President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon rewarding his young rising star.
Since being drafted first overall by Detroit in 2021, Cunningham has averaged 20.0 points, 6.5 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 43.2 percent from the floor and 32.9 percent from three-point range. Just this past season, the 22-year-old guard averaged new career highs in points (22.7), assists (7.5), and field goal percent (44.9 percent).
It had become a given in recent weeks that Cunningham was going to be receiving a max-level contract from the Pistons as he enters the final year of his rookie contract. Cunningham has been the young leader of this franchise throughout their tumultuous rebuild, and there was no doubt that the organization wanted to lock him up on a new long-term deal that would keep the former first overall pick in Detroit through the 2029-30 season.
Pistons commit to building around Cade Cunningham
The 2024-25 season is going to be an interesting one for the Pistons simply because they have started over again. Although their young core from the 2023-24 season remains, Langdon is now running the front office, and Bickerstaff will take the reigns on the sidelines.
The Pistons are looking for immediate growth during the 2024-25 season, and Cunningham will be Bickerstaff's focal point at the point guard position.
The question for this organization now revolves around what the rest of the roster will look like. The Pistons have a lot of financial flexibility when it comes to free agency, and it is said that they are in the market to bring in experienced talents who can help build a winning culture. Unfortunately, very little options have presented themselves in free agency this offseason for a rebuilding team like the Pistons.
After securing this long-term deal from the Pistons, Cunningham now enters the new year looking to lead a roster highlighted by other young, growing talents in Jalen Duren, Jaden Ivey, Isaiah Stewart, Ausar Thompson, and the 2024 fifth overall pick, Ron Holland.
The Pistons finished the 2023-24 season with a 14-68 record, their worst in team history. Since winning 41 games during the 2018-19 season, the Pistons have failed to surpass 23 wins in a single year. Cunningham, Bickerstaff, and the entire Pistons organization will be looking to change their recent misfortune right away.
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