Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey are foundational pieces of the Detroit Pistons, who just hired coach Monty Williams to guide them to the next level.
Monty Williams spent most of his career playing small forward, as one would guess provided he was a 6-foot-8 wing with a knack for getting buckets who was drafted in 1994. He earned Honorable Mention All-American status while playing his college ball at Notre Dame, where he averaged 22.4 points and 8.4 rebounds during his senior season. When New York selected him with the 24th pick in the draft, they hoped they had acquired a building block for the future during what was actually a solid period of Knicks basketball.
One of his most important jobs as the Piston with the whistle will be to develop Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey. His playing experience is not a perfect port to the game the young duo displays out on the court today, but Monty Williams is up to the challenge, especially if the following quote from Devin Booker is given any weight.
"“He means everything. He’s a real one. He is one of those people that when you’re talking to him, he looks you directly in your eyes, and you feel everything he said.”"
Detroit Pistons: How Monty Williams will help Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey
It’s much bigger than just the sport of basketball. Williams likes to develop personal relationships, and all the basketball stuff is a bonus.
Booker’s comment might not address the X’s and O’s that the head coach needs to have mastery of in order to win at the level we all desire, but it does show that the 51-year-old isn’t too old to be out of touch with today’s players. Remember, Booker is debatably a superstar shooting guard for the Phoenix Suns who really blossomed under Monty’s tutelage. And we’re not just talking an improvement in shooting accuracy, although one can see positive upticks there.
Booker learned to be the focal point of an offense on a team that nearly won the NBA championship. Sure, having Chris Paul run the offense helped and the two formed one of the best backcourts in the league, but make no mistake – there was no Kevin Durant on that team, leaving Booker to be the 1st and sometimes 2nd option.
Can Williams find similar success with another talented backcourt?
Detroit Pistons: How Monty Williams Will Help Cade Cunningham
Former #1 overall pick Cade Cunningham entered the league with less fanfare, pomp and circumstance than the soon-to-be top pick of the ’23 draft in Victor Wembanyama, but Cunningham is still every bit of a future franchise caliber NBA superstar. He is and will be, unless something crazy happens, the leader of this team for many years to come. Cade was showing some real progress, both down the stretch during his rookie season and the handful of games he played as a sophomore before an injury knocked him off his square.
Stephen A. Smith recently critiqued William’s overreliance on Phoenix’s Chris Paul, observing the Suns improved team play when the Point God was sidelined by a groin injury a few weeks ago as they battled the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals. That could be an indication that Williams will utilize Cunningham to the fullest, turning over control of the offense to him. Leaning on Paul at this stage of his career when the team had other options like Devin Booker and Kevin Durant may have been a mistake, but it will serve the Pistons well if they are able to maximize Cade’s involvement.
No matter how spectacular Ivey can be, and no matter who else joins the team – be it by way of the draft, trade or free agency– Williams willingness to prioritize it’s one true franchise player in Cunningham has to be among the chief reasons Monty just got the bag he did.
Williams was brought here to win, and any #1 overall pick will be measured by that criteria in ways that aren’t even fair. Cade Cunningham must bring a championship to Detroit in order to validate his draft position, and having Williams take over as Head Coach gives him his best chance to do that.
Cunningham will thrive in an offense that demands ball movement and quick decisions, taking advantage of his skills as a passer and a scorer. One of of Cunningham’s biggest strengths is making his teammates better and he’ll have the chance to do that as the floor leader of an offense that will through him.
A quicker and more open offense will take advantage of Cade’s IQ and passing ability and he’ll be given the reins to run the show. He has the smarts and the mid-range game to have the kind of success that Chris Paul had under Williams in Phoenix.
Detroit Pistons: How Monty Williams will help Jaden Ivey
Some people are natural leaders, while others have leadership qualities that aren’t fully matured. Ivey is a spectacular player and by all accounts a good human being; what will set him apart will be an ability to easy Cade’s load and make teammates better.
While he will often have to defer to the Motocade, Ivey has his own incredible engine. Williams is known for his .5-second offense and that should, in time, play to Ivey’s strengths. The offense emphasizes the importance of making quick decisions, that is, shooting, passing, or dribbling within half a second of getting the ball. Ivey can become a dominant player in such an orchestration, although doing so may take some time.
In Williams’ scheme, endless opportunities to attack the basket are created, which is an Ivey specialty. He moves so quickly that he should get his share of easy buckets. If Ivey’s lane to the rim is cut off by the time he has reached the extended free throw line, he should then look to pass to the open shooter. This is tailored-made to his strengths, and if he masters it, then the sky is the limit.
Ivey is going to have to learn how to be the 1B All-NBA caliber backcourt complement to Cade that Joe Dumars was to Isiah Thomas. His doing so will elevate the entire team to a level that it hasn’t reached in years.