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 ESPNās 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.
ā Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2021
This makes all the sense in the world. The 6ā7, 220-pound Cunningham is going to the No. 1 pick in the Draft. Heās 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. Thereās not really a case for the Pistons to take anyone else.
This also feels important because it suggests that Cunningham isnāt going to try and dictate himself away from the Pistons. If he wasnāt interested in playing there for whatever reason, the immediate leak wouldnāt have been āheāll only take meeting there.ā 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 thereās 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, itāll become reality.
