Detroit Pistons’ 2024 NBA draft picks: Ron Holland II & Bobi Klintman
Detroit Pistons selected G League wing Ron Holland II at No. 5 overall and Swedish forward Bobi Klintman at No. 37 in the 2024 NBA draft in New York.
The Detroit Pistons’ franchise player should have his future with the team secured by early July.
The Pistons intend to sign Cade Cunningham to a rookie max extension of five years worth $226 million (25% of the 2025-26 projected salary cap), a league source told the Free Press on Sunday night. The contract could reach around $270 million, or 30% of the 2025-26 cap once it’s set next summer, if Cunningham meets supermax criteria by making an All-NBA team next season.
The source was granted anonymity because a deal cannot be completed officially until 12:01 p.m. Saturday.
Cunningham, who turns 23 in September, is coming off the best season of his three-year career, and will be signed for six more years through the 2029-30 season.
His starting salary at 25% of the cap will be about $39 million and reach roughly $51 million in the final season.
He’ll be under the tutelage of new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who agreed to become the team’s third coach in as many seasons earlier Sunday.
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Cunningham averaged 22.7 points, 7.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game on 44.9% overall shooting and 35.5% from 3 in 2023-24. It was a bounce-back season after the 6-foot-6 guard play in only 12 games during his second season with a shin injury, leading to season-ending surgery.
The 2024-25 season will be the last on his rookie contract, before his extension kicks in next summer, meaning the Pistons sacrifice cap space and flexibility for the security of locking in Cunningham’s future now ahead of restricted free agency.
New Pistons president Trajan Langdon has expressed his intention to build around Cunningham and find pieces that can lighten his workload.
“As for Cade, he and I have had some really good conversations thus far,” Langdon said during his introductory news conference June 21. “High-character human being, mature beyond his years and a big time basketball player at a young age, averaging 23 and 7 assists last year. We’re going to put a group around him that can bolster his growth, but not make it as hard for him to do the things he had to do this last year, but also help other players get better.
“We want to have other players help him so he can help the other players as well, because he is an unselfish player who I do think has a chance to really be impactful at a high level and be the best player.”
Cunningham was one of the lone bright spots during a dreadful 14-68 season in 2023-24 that revealed deep flaws in the Pistons’ team-building strategy and coaching. Despite that, Cunningham at the end of the season expressed excitement to have a fully healthy offseason ahead of him to work on his top-two skill priorities: ball-handling, and conditioning.
“Obviously not the year that we hoped for coming in, but we learned a lot for sure,” he said in April. “A lot of lessons came out of it. For me, I’m just thankful to have been able to make it through another season, to be healthy, to find who I am again on the court after missing most of my second year. Those are the positives that I’m taking away from a tough situation like this. I’m really looking forward to what’s to come.”
Cunningham joins Isaiah Stewart as the lone Pistons locked up to long-term deals outside of rookies. Stewart enters the first year of a four-year, $60 pact signed last summer under the Troy Weaver-led front office.
The Athletic was first to report the impending agreement.
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at [email protected]. Follow him @omarisankofa.
