"Pistons."
What first comes to mind when you hear that word? Do you cringe? Do you shrug? Do you laugh because it's preferable to crying?
Stan Van Gundy was a disaster when it came to player personnel, but he might as well have been Red Auerbach risen from the dead compared to his successor, Troy Weaver. So what's left for the new sheriff in town, Trajan Langdon, to retain?
Cade Cunningham.
There is no question the Pistons should sign Cunningham, a restricted free agent, to the rookie maximum contract extension. Every other player the new regime is inheriting is either uncertain or bad. The squad was put together like a kid misplacing pieces of his LEGO set under Weaver.
Cunningham is the exception. He isn't the basketball equivalent of Spencer Torkelson where you wonder if he goes elsewhere you wonder and becomes a star. You know Cunningham would star. It might as well be here.
Under extraordinarily trying circumstances, Cunningham has made significant progress. It's just gone unnoticed by much of this town as the Pistons fly so far under the radar due to their ineptitude.
He averaged 22.7 points, 7.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game this season. His field goal percentage rose to 44 percent. Most importantly, he hit 35.6 percent of his threes, an effective level for an NBA player, and he's trending upward in that regard. He was bigger, stronger and quicker than in his first two injury-plagued seasons
Despite the utter dysfunction around him, Cunningham played extraordinarily hard each night. Unlike many NBA players in such a situation, he kept his cool. He didn't whine about his unfortunate injuries and the misfortune of being selected first overall by a mess of an organization.
Cunningham definitely has leadership qualities. What he needs, surrounding him, are capable players he can lead. The Pistons would be wise to make him a centerpiece of their future.
And then, ultimately, it can be proven that drafting Cunningham is by far the best move the Pistons have made in a long time.
