Cade Cunningham's sales pitch could eventually help land the Pistons a star

The Detroit Pistons were trying to get Cade Cunningham a second star this summer, and he was reportedly a big part of the process. 

According to Vince Goodwill, Cunningham was helping the Pistons recruit the stars they were after, a list that includes Austin Reaves, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard. 

I’ve heard some Pistons fans complain that Cade wasn’t doing enough in this regard, but as usual, they missed the action behind the scenes. We know Cade is friends with at least one of these guys (KD) and that the two were spotted together, but Cunningham had a tough pitch. 

The Pistons themselves have always been a tough sell to free agents, and nothing has changed there, but what has changed is that they now have a superstar that is the type of unselfish player other stars want to play with. 

The Pistons are a more attractive option with Cade, but it takes two to tango as they say, and Detroit couldn’t find a dance partner. 

The Pistons were chasing pipe dreams 

None of the four players mentioned were really available (at least to Detroit), so Cade’s best sales pitch was never going to work even if the players involved were interested in relocating.

The Lakers threw a max deal at Austin Reaves as soon as there was word that the Pistons might do the same. They beat Detroit to the punch and had all of the leverage, as Reaves was a restricted free agent. 

The Rockets made it clear that they weren’t interested in trading Kevin Durant, at least not right now, and the same could be said about the Mavs and Kyrie Irving. 

Kawhi Leonard made it clear he would only re-sign with the Spurs or Raptors, and that’s a mess the Pistons want to avoid anyway, as he’s still under investigation and It's only getting messier. 

It didn’t really matter that Cade was out there trying to recruit, as these players weren’t in full control of their destinies. 

It could pay dividends down the road 

Cunningham has laid the groundwork for future trades and hopefully stoked some interest among his peers. 

Reaves isn’t going anywhere now, but I could certainly see Kevin Durant growing unhappy with Houston at some point next season if things aren’t going well or if he doesn’t like how he’s being used. 

Detroit may now be a team he’d consider. Same with Kyrie, as the Mavericks could be bad again next year and he may try to force his way to a better situation. 

Cunningham did what superstars are supposed to do, which is act as the face of and ambassador for the team, so hopefully some of this will pay off eventually. 

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