OT: D'OH! Pistons' Cade Cunningham will have Season-Ending Shin Surgery

Submitted by I Bleed Maize N Blue on December 14th, 2022 at 10:58 PM

Watching a recording of the Pistons' game @ Hornets, and they said Cade Cunningham's going to have surgery on his left shin and won't be back this season. [NBA.com link] Wishing him a swift & full recovery.

The Pistons already have the NBA's worst record, and his presence wouldn't necessarily move them up much, but as a 2nd-year player, he needs to play and get better with his teammates. Draftwise, the worst 3 teams have a 14% chance to get the #1 pick, but the worst picks no lower than 5th.

May the Pistons get another good player in the draft.

Denard In Space

December 14th, 2022 at 11:06 PM ^

Well, seeing as this draft has the most promising prospect since Lebron James and the #2 kid isn't far behind, this could end up serving us long-term. Just have to hope it prevents Cade from further issues with this kind of injury and that he recovers well.  

Qmatic

December 15th, 2022 at 8:18 AM ^

There have been a lot of "Best since LeBron James" or "Graded higher than LeBron did coming out of High School" people that come to mind are: Zion Williamson, Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Shabazz Muhammad (the latter two more so when in HS and not after their year in college), and now Wembanyama. 

I will say, he seems the most likely to carry that title due to his size and versatility. In all actuality he is probably more in line with "The best wing since Durant" since he is more in that mold than LeBron. Someone like Luka is closer in style of play to LeBron than Vic Wem.

BKBlue94

December 14th, 2022 at 11:24 PM ^

This is pretty unfortunate, hope he recovers fully and quickly. I'm on board with the tank at this point - not a great start tonight though, winning a game against the Hornets.

Darker Blue

December 15th, 2022 at 2:58 AM ^

This isn't a huge deal. Cades a young dude. He'll be fully recovered for next season. This years team was never going to be good.

The bigger news is the rebirth of Killian Hayes. He's making the haters look dumb. He's playing with so much confidence and he's knocking down shots. 

Also Jalen Duren is going to be an absolute star for a long long time in this league. He had 19 boards tonight. He already plays great defense and I've seen him hit Kevin Durant fadeaways from the elbow. He's just a baby and the sky is the absolute limit for him. 

The Pistons, no matter who they get in this year's draft are loaded and the future is oh so bright

NotADuck

December 15th, 2022 at 10:25 AM ^

You're one of the people that isn't paying attention.  Understandable, the Pistons are not a good team.  You quoted his season numbers, which are horrible.  Over the last 10 games he's shot 45.2% overall and 38.3% from 3.  Those are pretty good shooting percentages no matter who you are.  Also he's averaging 13.7ppg and 7.7 assists over that span.  He's taking control of the offense on a nightly basis, becoming the primary distributor for the team.  He's the primary distributor for a bad team but he doesn't have to be a starter long-term.  He can be the sixth man.  A guy to spell Cade and Jaden without sacrificing much playmaking.  That would be his ideal role.

NotADuck

December 15th, 2022 at 10:22 AM ^

People are sleeping on Killian Hayes.  This was his make or break season.  He started out very poorly but he's really hitting his stride ever since Cade went out of the lineup.  The shooting has been the most impressive thing about it.  He was 5 for 11 from 3 last night.  This time last year he wouldn't have attempted more than 2 shots from that range and also would have missed both.  He's improved so much offensively and he's already one of the better defenders on the team.

matty blue

December 15th, 2022 at 6:20 AM ^

“stress fracture in tibia,” you say?  all i can think is sam bowie.  TAKE YOUR TIME, cade.

as to The Tank, if that’s the plan, they better trade bogdanovich.  that dude is a problem.  he’d be a great crunch time option for a contender down the stretch, and he’s 33.  get another pick or two.

LSAClassOf2000

December 15th, 2022 at 8:37 AM ^

They've talked about this endlessly on Detroit sports media for the last 36 hours or so, but all the same, that does blow for both him and the Pistons. Hopefully, it is a full and expeditious recovery. They have said he would easily be ready for training camp next season though. 

Romeo50

December 15th, 2022 at 9:21 AM ^

The 15 year rebuilding plan. Draft high poorly and lose most of your games. They have hit on a few but the consistent bad teams over the years and northern climes drive away FA's. I miss team bball like Joe built with the going to work crew.

Stopped watching upon the Lebron -Rasheed (4 steps for Lebron no whistle, Rasheed dives away from Lebron by 3 feet and still gets called for an and one) whistle disparity craze that defines the league to this day.

I watched a lot of Saturday Globetrotters and know rigged outcomes when I see them. Now it's a game of horse until a dunk contest breaks out. Too bad given all the talent. Fanatical league follower from Bing/Big Dobber days until the end of the going to work crew. Sad.

bronxblue

December 15th, 2022 at 12:11 PM ^

I feel bad for him because he was making good progress as a second-year player and there's potential for him and the team.  But yeah, if they wind up missing a year but can score Wembanyama then so be it.