Detroit Pistons: Is Scoot a better prospect than Cade Cunningham?

The Detroit Pistons hit the jackpot two years ago when they landed the #1 pick in the NBA Draft and chose Cade Cunningham to be the focal point of their rebuild.

Cade has everything you’d want in a modern player, as he can score from all three levels, he makes his teammates better and can defend a couple of spots on the perimeter.

The Pistons are hoping they get lucky again in the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery and get the chance to draft Victor Wembanyama after finishing the season with the league’s worst record.

This would have Pistons’ fans dancing in the streets and be a coup for GM Troy Weaver, who is under pressure to build a competitive roster and will look like a genius if Detroit gets the #1 pick twice in three years.

But there is one guy out there who doesn’t think Wembanyama should go #1, and that man’s name is Scoot Henderson, who many believe will be the second pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Henderson (unlike everyone else on the planet) thinks he should go first in the draft, and in a lot of years, he would have. The Pistons would be lucky to get the #2 pick, which would open up a lot of options for them.

Fans are talking a lot about how Scoot Henderson fits with Cade Cunningham, but should it be the other way around? If both players were in this draft, who would go first?

Detroit Pistons: Is Scoot Henderson a better prospect than Cade Cunningham?

Both Scoot Henderson and Cade Cunningham will enter the NBA as very hyped point guard prospects, though they are very different players.

Henderson relies on elite athleticism and ability to get to the rim and finish. He’s a scoring point guard who can get wherever he wants on the floor and has the vision to set up teammates. In his final year in the G-League, he averaged 17.6 points, 6.6 assists and 5.1 rebounds for the Ignite while shooting 42.9 percent from the field and just 27.5 percent from 3-point range on 2.7 attempts per game.

Cade Cunningham relies less on athleticism and more on basketball IQ and size, though he can still get wherever he wants on the floor, just like Scoot. He went the college route and in his one year for OSU averaged 20.2 points, 3.5 assists and 6.2 rebounds on 43.8 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc on 5.7 attempts per game.

The biggest difference in their games is that Scoot is more of a pure point guard, while Cunningham at 6-foot-7 is more a playmaking wing. Cade also entered the NBA as a much-better shooter than Scoot, who needs to improve from behind the 3-point line (so does Cade).

Both players are competitive leaders who want to be great, but as prospects, Cade has the advantage in a couple of areas including both shooting and defense.

But to be fair, Scoot Henderson was playing against older G-League competition and is nearly a year younger than Cade Cunningham was when he entered the NBA.

I’d give the slight edge to Cade, but definitely wouldn’t turn my nose up at Scoot Henderson if the Detroit Pistons drafted him with their first-round pick. These two fit a lot better than people might think and I’ve never heard a team complaining about having too much talent.