The Detroit Pistons won 20 games this season, a masterclass in tanking that landed them the number one pick in the NBA Draft, which they will almost certainly use to take Cade Cunningham.
Cunningham is a unique talent, a 6-foot-8 point guard who can pretty much do everything, including score from all three levels and defend all over the court.
But will adding him to a 20-win team make them a playoff contender? Cunningham himself seems to think so.
In a recent appearance on The Old Man and the Three podcast with J.J. Redick, Cunningham was confident in his ability to take a team to the playoffs in his rookie season, saying:
"“One of the main things is making the playoffs rookie year, I want to be in that race for sure.”"
I love his confidence and the fact that he has made winning an immediate goal, but is it possible? Let’s take a look at the reasons Cade Cunningham will (or won’t) meet his goal of taking the Detroit Pistons to the playoffs.
Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham will be a superstar and make the playoffs in year one
If you were to make a player in a laboratory that was perfect for the modern NBA game, that player might be Cade Cunningham.
In a league currently dominated by perimeter scoring, Cunningham has the right mix of size, shooting and playmaking to be an immediate superstar in the NBA.
Cunningham dragged a mediocre Oklahoma State team to the NCAA tournament without much help and will now be surrounded by NBA players who can better take advantage of his skill set and put him in a better position to succeed.
Rookie point guards struggle, just ask Killian Hayes
The argument against this is that young guards always struggle in their first season in the NBA and the Detroit Pistons are going to essentially have a back court of two rookies.
Killian Hayes showed flashes last season, but turned the ball over way too much and struggled with shot selection, two things that could plague Cunningham as he adjusts to playing in the NBA.
Cunningham is also accustomed to doing everything himself and will have to get used to trusting teammates more than he did in college, which could take some time.
I think the backcourt combination will be a good one, perhaps one of the best young backcourts in the NBA, but it will take time, which will cost the Detroit Pistons a legitimate chance at the playoffs next season.
Cade Cunningham plus internal improvements will be enough to get the Detroit Pistons to the playoffs
Cade Cunningham will be joining All-Rookie team selections Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart as well as Olympian Jerami Grant, the three best teammates (BY FAR) that he’s ever played with.
Teams won’t be able to just double and triple team Cunningham like they did in college, which will open up his game even more. Cunningham had a ton of “potential assists” that will turn into buckets with better shooters and scorers around him.
He will also make everyone else better, as his ability to collapse the defense will create more open looks for Grant, Bey and Frank Jackson, who can all knock them down.
We can also expect some improvements from guys like Bey, Stewart, Saben Lee and Hamidou Diallo if he is re-signed.
Cunningham will make his teammates better and they will make him better.
The Detroit Pistons don’t have the supporting cast just yet
While we can expect some improvements, this will be essentially the same team as last year plus Cade Cunningham, whoever the Pistons add in free agency or trades.
Even though the Pistons were tanking for most of the season, they were still playing hard and trying to win games. They just weren’t good enough to do it.
20-win teams don’t generally make huge leaps without a major overall, which isn’t happening in Detroit, as the Pistons don’t have the cap space or roster spots to make drastic changes, and don’t really want to, as they are trying to build a homegrown team.
Without the ability to add the types of players they would need to make run at the playoffs, they will come up short, even with Cade Cunningham.
The Detroit Pistons will have a chance to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference
If the NBA decides to keep the play-in tournament, the Detroit Pistons will have a chance to make the playoffs with Cade Cunningham.
I imagine there will be some growing pains at the beginning of next season, but post All-Star break, the Pistons could start finding their groove.
The play-in tournament gives two more teams a chance to win their way into the playoffs just by going on a run against other teams in the 7-10 range.
If the Pistons can claw their way up to the 10th seed, they might be hitting their stride just at the right time, and we know Cade Cunningham lives for these big moments. It’s not hard to imagine a scenario in which the Detroit Pistons use the play-in tournament to their advantage.
Slow down, the Eastern Conference is still very good
Don’t look now but the Eastern Conference is officially back. After years of playing second fiddle to the dominant West, the East finally has some top teams.
I count at least six teams that are near locks to make the playoffs next year barring a huge catastrophe, including the Nets, Bucks, 76ers, Celtics, Heat and Hawks. You will also have the Raptors trying to get back in, likely improvements from the Wizards, Hornets, Bulls and Pacers, leaving just two teams that are likely to be bad in the Magic and Cavaliers.
That is a lot to battle through with a teenaged backcourt, and even with the addition of the play-in tournament, the Pistons would likely have to beat two good teams to get into the playoffs. The Celtics were the 7-seed this season with a more seasoned team featuring two stars.
I think the Detroit Pistons will definitely have a chance to sniff the play-in tournament next season, and that would be considered a success, but to say they will make the playoffs might be a stretch, even with the addition of Cade Cunningham.