Cade Cunningham still waiting for what his peers already have and time is ticking

There has been endless talk of the Detroit Pistons getting Cade Cunningham a second star, but so far, he’s still waiting. 

This has been a theme since Cunningham joined the league, as he only played with his first All-Star teammate this season, and there is debate whether Jalen Duren should really be in that category. Oh, and Duren might not be on the team next year. 

Unless you think Isaiah Joe or John Collins are going to miraculously turn into All-NBA players, Cunningham still doesn’t have a real second fiddle to take some of the pressure off him, especially in the playoffs. 

Meanwhile, other young stars around the league are getting their co-stars, so Cunningham has to wonder when the Pistons are finally going to get him the same kind of help. 

The Pistons working the fringes while Cade Cunningham’s peers get stars 

It’s been a wild NBA summer already with several marquee names changing teams, but none of those names will be penciled into the Pistons’ lineup next season. 

The Raptors got their star help and landed Scottie Barnes an All-NBA running mate in Kawhi Leonard. Kawhi was never going to re-sign in Detroit and made that clear, so I am not surprised the Pistons backed off this one. 

Anthony Edwards got a star teammate in LaMelo Ball, and while you can argue the merits of this one, the Timberwolves at least made an effort to get a second star in Minnesota to help their superstar. 

Bam Adebayo got some guy called Giannis to play next to, and Tyrese Maxey added Jaylen Brown to be his sidekick. 

If you look around the league now, Cunningham is the only MVP candidate who doesn’t have a legit second offensive option next to him, and Trajan Langdon has to do something about that if he wants to keep pace in the Eastern Conference. 

Who is left for the Pistons? 

The attention will now turn to Trey Murphy III, who is likely the top available name for the Pistons to pursue. Detroit has been sniffing around but has been unwilling to meet Troy Weaver’s high asking price. 

They may eventually have to cave, as teams around them in the East have improved, and Detroit has tread water at best. Joe and Collins are nice players, but they aren’t going to make much difference in the grand scheme of things if the Pistons don’t add more. 

Cunningham will be entering his 6th season, so the patience will start to run thin soon if the Pistons don’t make the kind of effort that their competition is making. Trajan Langdon is obviously exploring everything and reportedly being aggressive but at some point, that aggression had to lead to more than just fodder for clicks on Twitter. 

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