Cade Cunningham, the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, will only be visiting with one team: the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons, of course, have the No. 1 overall pick after winning the draft lottery on Tuesday. The news was reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Sources: The plan for presumptive No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham will be to visit only one team prior to the NBA Draft on July 29: The Detroit Pistons.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2021
This makes all the sense in the world. The 6’7, 220-pound Cunningham is going to the No. 1 pick in the Draft. He’s going to be the kind of big wing creator that the Pistons need and can be the lead of a young core that includes Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, and Saddiq Bey. There’s not really a case for the Pistons to take anyone else.
This also feels important because it suggests that Cunningham isn’t going to try and dictate himself away from the Pistons. If he wasn’t interested in playing there for whatever reason, the immediate leak wouldn’t have been “he’ll only take meeting there.” It would have been anything and everything that his camp would have tried to push as a reason for the Pistons to not take him so he can end up somewhere else.
Ultimately, this is good. Cunningham in Detroit means there’s another relevant team in the NBA and the league needs as many relevant teams as possible. The Pistons are also an interesting fit for Cunningham. About a month from now, it’ll become reality.