Cade Cunningham won't play in the Pistons' season-opener Wednesday against the Bulls, that much we know. But it remains unclear when the No. 1 pick will make his much-anticipated debut as he recovers from an ankle sprain he suffered early in training camp.
Pistons GM Troy Weaver shed some light on the situation Wednesday morning on the Stoney & Jansen Show: the club hopes to get Cunningham in the lineup after a three-game road trip that starts Saturday night in Chicago.
"He’s pretty much day to day, but we need to ramp him up and get some conditioning going and get him acclimated to going full speed at five on five," Weaver said. "Hopefully we’ll get him back sooner than later, but I would anticipate hopefully seeing him when we get back off the road."
That would put Cunningham on track to debut Saturday, Oct. 30 at home against the Magic. The Pistons go back on the road the next night to play the Nets, followed by a three-game homestand that begins the ensuing Tuesday against the Bucks.
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Pistons head coach Dwane Casey has said he wants Cunningham to get in a couple full practices before the rookie plays in a game. Ideally, Cunningham will clear that hurdle when the Pistons hit the road.
"For me, it’s about his health and his longevity," Casey said Monday after Cunningham went through portions of Detroit's practice. "We don’t want to be stupid and force him out there and now he’s out another month or whatever it is. We want to be cautious, we want to make sure he gets as many of these practices in as he can. Again, it’s a day-by-day thing."