In another year, Jalen Green might have gone No. 1. Evan Mobley might have gone No. 1. That's how deep this year's draft was, perhaps the deepest we've seen since 2003. With as many as four prospects touting first-overall talent, Troy Weaver and the Pistons had work to do at the top of the board.
So they did it. Did tons of it. They hunkered down and vetted it out and wound up right back where they started. They decided there was no way they could pick anyone but Cade Cunningham, the best player in the draft and the new face of basketball in Detroit.
Cunningham can score. He can create. He can put a team on his back and carry it further than it deserves to go. He's drawn so many comparisons to Hall of Famer Grant Hill that Cunningham feels like a Hall of Famer himself. But it wasn't necessarily his talent that separated Cunningham on the Pistons' draft board.
"The leadership, the versatility and the connectability put him over the top," said Weaver.
In other words, the Pistons view Cunningham as the captain of their future.
"You look at our team, he’s a human connector on the floor, off the floor, along with his advanced skillset and winning basketball that he plays and has always played," Weaver said. "To be able to bring in such a young, accomplished player, we’re excited and look forward to him getting here and getting started."
Listed as a guard, Cunningham gets described as a point-forward. He could just as easily initiate offense next to Killian Hayes as score in tandem with Jerami Grant and Saddiq Bey. He'll get all kinds of open shots for his teammates, and he'll seek out his own. Weaver said Cunningham "absolutely" makes roster-building easier for the Pistons moving forward.
"First thing I said, his versatility. He can allow you to play up, he can allow you to play down, you can play him in the backcourt, you can play him in the frontcourt. He just gives your roster so much flexibility. That was huge in the decision-making process and huge for the way the coaches will be able to use him," Weaver said.
If there's a knock against Cunningham, it's that he's not an elite athlete. He lacks the explosion of a high-flyer like Green. Weaver has prioritized athleticism in plotting the Pistons' path back to contention, but he's also prioritized smart basketball players. Bey is limited athletically and was just named a first-team All-Rookie. Know who else was limited athletically? One of Weaver's favorite players ever.
"I struggle putting together an all-time top-five without Larry Bird being on it. He had as sharp a mind as you can see, that I’ve seen," Weaver said. "And this Cunningham, his mind allows him to play faster and see and feel things, even if he’s not a superior athlete."
It didn't slow Cunningham down at Montverde Academy, where Weaver said he was "the lynchpin of one of the best high school teams I've seen in the last 20 years." It didn't slow him down at Oklahoma State, where he was Big 12 Player of the Year and lifted the Cowboys to their first NCAA Tournament win in six seasons. And it won't slow him down in the NBA, where Cade Cunningham is just getting started.
"He’s been an elite player at every level," Weaver said, "and I think he’ll continue that because of his sharp mind."