Detroit Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham, selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft out of Oklahoma State, has finally inked a maximum deal with the Pistons, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
This news had been initially reported at the start of free agency last week, though James L. Edwards III of The Athletic had warned at the time that those reports were premature, and the team was finessing some elements of the agreement before it would be ratified.
Read More: Pistons Sign Former Elite Lottery Pick to Max Contract Extension
Per Wojnarowski, the 6-foot-6 guard's agents, Jeff Schwartz and James Dunleavy of Excel Basketball, reveal that Cunningham inked a five-year, $224 million maximum rookie scale salary extension that, if he makes an All-NBA team, could reach $269 million, thanks to the Rose rule.
Cunningham will now be under team control through 2029-30, his age-28 season.
It's a fairly generous deal for the oft-injured combo guard, 22, who has missed an average of 45 games across the past two seasons.
Across 62 healthy contests in 2023-24, Cunningham posted career-best averages of 22.7 points (on a .449/.355/.869 slash line), 7.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 0.9 steals a night. He has especially struggled to connect on the hardwood with one of Detroit's other highly-regarded young pieces, combo guard Jaden Ivey.
Last year, Detroit reached perhaps its nadir during the Cunningham era, going 14-68 under then-first-year head coach Monty Williams, who had signed what at the time was the biggest contract in NBA history, a six-year, $78.5 million deal. Williams was fired in the offseason, and general manager Troy Weaver moved on as well.
Ivey, also 22, was selected with the fifth pick out of Purdue. Williams at one point opted to bench Ivey, before ultimately realizing that he deserved a starting nod. Consequentially, he saw all of his counting stats slide last year, averaging 15.4 points on .429/.336/.749 shooting splits, 3.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 0.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks per bout.
The long-term fit of Cunningham alongside Ivey remains a major question. The upside of several other top lottery picks Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson, plus intriguing young players like guard Quentin Grimes and power forward/center Isaiah Stewart, is also fairly uncertain.
Ultimately, the real question becomes, was Cunningham worth a full maximum contract extension ahead of what would have been his restricted free agency in the summer of 2025? His value isn't entirely speculative, but the intriguing young guard has yet to entirely prove his mettle on the floor for the Pistons.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Newsweek contributing writer Alex Kirschenbaum is a hoops fanatic who has managed to parlay his passion into a writing career. ... Read more
