The Pistons could regret their biggest offseason move

The Detroit Pistons had a busy offseason and you can argue what transaction was the biggest/most important. 

Most would say the ousting of Troy Weaver, who was replaced with Trajan Langdon who already seems like a major upgrade in every way. 

They also fired their coach, which had to happen after Monty Williams phoned in a season after signing what was then the richest coaching deal in league history. 

Detroit also added veterans Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr., whose skills are supposed to complement the young players and help them to improve in a better environment. 

But the biggest move of the offseason was one that didn’t get nearly as much attention and that was giving Cade Cunningham a max extension that will keep him in Detroit through the 2029-30 season. 

By that time, Cunningham will be 28-years-old, so they’ve staked their near and long-term future on Cade, something the team could end up regretting. 

Should the Detroit Pistons have given Cade Cunningham a full max extension? 

First off, the Pistons absolutely, 100 percent had to extend Cade Cunningham, which was a no-brainer. 

Without him, this team has even less hope than it has now, as he is their best chance at an All-Star appearance anytime soon. He has great leadership qualities, is a good guy and has flashed All-Star potential, so they absolutely had to keep him. 

You can also argue that because the Pistons are the Pistons, they are not going to get any elite talent to sign with them for the long term unless they max them out. Fair point. 

It’s also a fair point to argue that Cunningham was not deserving of the max after having only one good season and missing a ton of games on a team that hasn’t won squat. 

Second contracts are an act of faith in the NBA, as most players have not reached even close to their peak when they sign them, so teams are banking on what they are going to become. 

Seeing players like Cunningham get full max deals even though they haven’t accomplished anything is baffling. I get that Detroit will always have to overpay, but it seems like they should have been able to get Cunningham without giving him a full max deal after he played just 138 games in three seasons combined and led some historically bad teams.

It’s possible he wouldn’t have signed for anything less, but was that option ever explored or did they just hand him a blank check? Couldn’t they have added some clauses about games played or team wins to balance it out? Like with Andre Drummond, the Pistons were all-too-eager to pay Cade like he is "him" when there is scant evidence of that yet.

If Cunningham reaches his potential, this deal will be a steal by the time he’s in his mid-20's and has made a couple of All-Star appearances on a team regularly fighting for the playoffs. 

But until then, the Pistons rolled the dice on an oft-injured player who has yet to show he can be the best guy on a good team.