This offseason, the Detroit Pistons are experiencing huge changes. For starters, Trajan Langdon has been appointed President of Basketball Operations, replacing Troy Weaver.
The squad is also focused on the 2024 NBA Draft, when they hold the fifth and 53rd picks, which they can use to strengthen their young core.
The Detroit Pistons haven’t accomplished much in recent years, but one bright spot is Cade Cunningham, their top overall choice in 2021. The 22-year-old combo guard is coming off a breakout season in which he averaged 22.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game while shooting 44.9% from the floor in 62 regular-season games.
The Detroit Pistons should build around Cade Cunningham if they want to make an impact in the Eastern Conference soon. And recent indications imply that Detroit is eager to do so.
Cade Cunningham to get a MASSIVE max rookie extension from the Detroit Pistons
In his mailbag piece on Thursday, James Edwards III of The Athletic stated that Cade Cunningham is likely to receive the bag valued up to $225 million over the next five years, barring unforeseen circumstances.
“I’m 99.9 percent sure that Cunningham gets an extension this offseason,” said Edwards. “I don’t want to say 100 percent because you never know what can happen, but I’d be stunned if the 2021 No. 1 overall pick doesn’t sign a max rookie extension.”
“Cunningham made significant improvements on a squad that had only won 14 games and had a 28-game losing streak. I find it difficult to imagine that the Pistons’ decision-makers did not conclude from this past season that Cunningham is worth developing around in the long run. So, sure, I believe Cunningham gets the extension,” he said.
While securing Cunningham’s long-term contract is a good first step in the Detroit Pistons’ rebuild, Trajan Langdon and his team will need to surround him with winning assets next.
