Detroit Pistons: Lottery odds or Rookie of the Year for Cade Cunningham?

The Detroit Pistons once again find themselves a race to the bottom of the NBA as the season winds down. The difference this season is that they have Cade Cunningham.

Detroit is clinging to the third-worst record in the NBA, but are now just a half game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder after beating them in Tankapalooza 2022, and are just three games behind the Indiana Pacers, who have lost six in a row and would love to tank out to improve their odds.

With just four games remaining (three of which are against playoff teams) it’s unlikely that the Pistons will catch the Pacers, but OKC is running out one of the most shameless tank lineups I’ve ever seen, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they didn’t win another game, which could put the Pistons top-3 odds in jeopardy.

This is why you saw Cade Cunningham sit after only six minutes in the last game, and why he probably won’t play tonight against the Pacers in a game the Pistons would love to lose.

However, sitting Cade Cunningham down the stretch isn’t going to help his Rookie of the Year campaign, so the question is whether Detroit should care.

Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham’s case for Rookie of the Year

Cade Cunningham has arguably been playing better than any rookie down the stretch, as Evan Mobley has been out with injury, and Cade is putting up better stats than Scottie Barnes even though Barnes’ Raptors are red hot and headed to the playoffs.

You can make a solid argument for all three of them and could probably throw Franz Wagner and Jalen Green into the mix as well.

This rookie class has been amazing and we have one of the tightest Rookie of the Year races in years.

It’s so close that sitting Cade Cunningham down the stretch could be the difference in him winning Rookie of the Year or not.

For most voters, it probably won’t make a difference, but there are a few that might have been swayed by a strong finish to the season by Cade.

Sitting out a couple of games probably won’t matter, but it can’t help, as his resume would look a lot better if he finished with a string of 25+ point games.

If the Detroit Pistons decide to sit Cade tonight or even longer, they are making it clear where their priorities are and I can’t blame them.

In the end, Cade Cunningham is a team player and would probably prefer adding a guy like Paolo Banchero than winning the Rookie of the Year, and if sitting him helps that cause, I am sure he will bite his lip, sit on the bench, and help his team secure better lottery odds.

I hope he at least plays in the final three games against the Bucks, Mavericks and 76ers, games the Pistons are not expected to win, so that he at least has some final chances to add to his Rookie of the Year resume.