Cade Cunningham's Season Is Officially Over And The Time Has Come For The Pistons To Fully Embrace The Tank
Patrick McDermott. Getty Images.
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Well this absolutely stinks. I can't say it's surprising once we learned that Cade Cunningham had a stress fracture in his shin back in mid November. I'm not a doctor but I feel like that type of injury is usually followed by the news we got today from Woj. Why risk it you know? Get surgery, rehab, and be ready to roll for next season. When you're talking about a franchise cornerstone piece lke Cunningham, you have to think both short and long term. It sucks because watching Cade play basketball is very fun and the Pistons are a feisty bunch when he's active, but that is not on ice until next October.
Before we move on, let's remind ourselves just had awesome Cade is
Now that we know that Cade is out for good, it's time to shift to a more important topic. The Pistons currently sit at 7-22, which is the worst record in the NBA. I wouldn't say they're "tanking" per se because they definitely still try every single night. This is not a case where they are keeping all their best players out so they can lose. Unfortunately, they're losing anyway and currently sit atop the tanking standings
which brings me to my next point. The time has come for the Pistons to lean all the way in when it comes to the race for Victor Wembanyama. This is relevant not just because of the Cade injury, but also Shams' most recent reporting surrounding some potential trades involving the Pistons
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I don't think that's an accident that this reporting came out immediately after Bogdanovic hung a cool 38 on the Lakers last night
You'll remember, a few months ago the Pistons signed Bogdanovic to a 2 year extension
which didn't really make sense at the time when you think of where the Pistons are in their rebuild. A super young team doesn't usually extend a 33 year old, but he's now locked in through the 2024-25 season. There's no player option or anything for that final year, and I think that's important when you now start to factor in potential trades.
It's no secret that the Lakers need shooting, and it's no secret that they need "win now" players given the timeline of AD and LeBron. You could absolutely make the case that Bogdanovic checks both of those boxes, and knowing it would require one of those unprotected 2027 or 2029 first round picks from the Lakers, you figure they'd be more open to moving one of them for a guy that is signed for 2 more seasons after this one. That absolutely fits their current timeline while addressing a major need.
While maybe the Pistons weren't interested in something like this a few weeks ago, I do think you have to seriously consider it now with the Cade news. You can always slide Saddiq Bey into the started SF spot so that group can still have some shooting, and as long as the protections aren't crazy on that pick, that thing could be pretty valuable considering by 2027 or 2029 you'd think that would be a post-LeBron world. The only other destination we've heard about for the Lakers is potentially the Pacers, but they're way better than expected and who knows if they're going to be willing to blow it up. That gives the Pistons some leverage, because again the Lakers are pretty desperate right now. They cannot throw away this season since the Pelicans own their 1st round pick this summer.
So instead, use this season as another development year, get a valuable asset and also help yourself potentially land Wembanyama. I was someone who was high on the Pistons heading into the season because I do think they have legit young talent, but that clearly hasn't made much of a difference. So while it sucks that Cade will now be lost for the year, it does have the potential to be a blessing in disguise long term. Don't forget, the Pistons are also going to have a shit ton of cap space this summer. They could potentially have the tools to get a whole lot better in a short amount of time if they play this right.
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As always though, fuck injuries. They're the absolute worst.