When the Detroit Pistons landed Cade Cunningham they hopefully got a superstar to build around, just as the Mavericks did when they traded up to get Luka Doncic.
Luka has been an MVP candidate since the second he joined the league but this was the first season that his team made it out of the first round of the playoffs. Doncic carried this Mavericks team to the Western Conference Finals, a testament to his greatness because the team around him is not very good.
Just look at the Mavs roster and you will see a bunch of good role players but no other stars, which came back to haunt them against the Warriors, when Luka alone finally wasn’t enough to advance.
There is a lot the Pistons could learn from Luka and the Mavericks, namely that it takes more than one superstar to win in the NBA.
Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham and Luka Doncic
Cade Cunningham has been compared to Luka Doncic as they are both big guards who can be a team’s top scorer and playmaker.
Cade is not near Doncic’s level offensively yet, but he may be able to get there at some point, as he is a better natural 3-point shooter, and like Doncic, very good at getting his shots in the post and mid-range.
But the thing the Pistons don’t want to emulate is Dallas’ team building, as they gave Doncic exactly zero stars to help him out this season. Jalen Brunson is good and a guy the Pistons are reportedly “planning a big money” offer for, but does he really strike you as the second-best player on a title team?
If Dallas’ plan is just to re-sign Brunson and run it back, they are likely doomed to keep coming up short, as teams need more than one star to win in the NBA.
The Celtics have Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and the Warriors have All-Defensive team member Draymond Green to go along with the Splash Brothers and Jordan Poole.
Again, this shows how good Doncic is, as he was able to compete with these teams even though his secondary star does not match up with the other top teams.
Like the Dallas Mavericks, the Detroit Pistons are going to have to find another star to pair with Cade Cunningham, as Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart profile more as really good role players than stars, just like Luka’s current teammates.
Hopefully they will get that guy in the 2022 NBA Draft, but the Pistons don’t want to be in a situation where Cade Cunningham has to do everything, as a one man band is never winning a title in the NBA.