Every day seems to bring a new NBA Draft trade rumor involving the Detroit Pistons.
Part of this is just media doing our thing, as these are compelling conversations that people want to have and the other part is just teams posturing to hide their true intentions and not give anything away.
The most recent rumor had the Detroit Pistons connected to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Was told the OKC Thunder had made a legitimate offer for #1 that the Pistons turned down https://t.co/qqwomMiGRQ
— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) July 26, 2021
The specifics of the offer were not given, but most people assume that some combination of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the 6th pick were involved.
If so, this is one of the better potential offers out there, as SGA is a legit star and the Detroit Pistons could still get a talented player like Scottie Barnes with the 6th pick.
Even though this offer isn’t bad, the Detroit Pistons should still walk away, as there are too many reasons to just take Cade Cunningham with the first overall pick in the NBA Draft.
Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham is going to be superstar
The first reason to turn down this offer is that Cade Cunningham may end up being better than Gilgeous-Alexander before their respective careers are over.
Cunningham has superstar potential on both ends, and while SGA is already a star, is he really going to get much better? He’s an elite scorer but not defender, so Cade might end up being the more impactful player.
Cunningham is bigger and stronger than SGA, is already a very good 3-point shooter (something SGA has only recently added) and just has that “it” factor you are looking for in a franchise cornerstone.
This is no offense to SGA, as he is one of the best young players in the league and destined to be an All-NBA talent at some point, but I just think Cade has a higher ceiling when you factor in size and defense.
There is also the matter of money.
Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham will be on a rookie deal
If all things were equal, then you might consider OKC’s offer, as it is a very good one and would give the Detroit Pistons a young star to build around plus another pick.
But all things aren’t equal.
Cade Cunningham is going to be a on a rookie deal, which means the Pistons can get years of his services for cheap, which is one of the most valuable assets in the NBA. It’s far easier to build around a guy on a rookie deal than one who is on a max deal.
And that’s what SGA will be on, as he only has one more year left on his contract and will be looking for a max extension. So the Detroit Pistons would only get one year of cheap production out of him before he was making upwards of $20 million a year.
The Pistons would likely have the cap space to do this, but if Cunningham is putting up similar numbers by year two or three, he will be much easier to build around, as the Pistons will have a max cap slot to add a free agent or two.
Also, who’s to say the Detroit Pistons can’t get Shai Gilgeous-Alexander anyway? Why have one when you can have them both?
Detroit Pistons: The Pistons could steal Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as a free agent
SGA is going to be a restricted free agent after next season, which means the Detroit Pistons might have a chance to get him anyway, in which case it would be far smarter to be patient.
The Pistons are going to have Blake Griffin’s money off the books next offseason and will have a ton of cap space to play around with.
Depending on where OKC feels they are in their rebuild, they might not want to match the offer the Pistons could make. Of course, if OKC is desperate to keep him, they can match any offer, but if they aren’t?
Also, what if SGA doesn’t want to stay in OKC? He could take the qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent the next season, in which case he could got to any team he wants.
My point is that there are ways for the Pistons to get SGA or a similar talent and still have Cade Cunningham, and since Detroit is still year or two away from serious contention, they’d be crazy to pass on a cheap, potential superstar.
The Pistons can have their cake and eat it, which is exactly what they should do. Draft Cade, let the season play out as it may, then use your cap space and suddenly VERY attractive young roster to get your second star in free agency.
It’s simple really.
There isn’t a Godfather offer out there that is going to move the Detroit Pistons, as it would be much smarter for them to just take Cade Cunningham and wait.