Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham is set to miss the remainder of the 2022-23 season after opting to undergo surgery on his shin, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Cunningham – who Detroit selected first overall in the 2021 NBA Draft out of Oklahoma State – has been out of the lineup since 9 November has met with specialists in recent weeks to determine the best course of action moving forward.
The 21-year-old is expected to make a full recovery prior to next season’s training camp.
Last season, Cunningham became the fourth-youngest player in NBA history to average 17+ ppg, 5+ rpg and 5+ apg for a season and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting behind Scottie Barnes and Evan Mobley.
This season, he has averaged 19.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg and 6.0 apg but has struggled shooting, hitting on just 41.5% of his field goal attempts and 27.9% of his three-point attempts.
The Pistons are currently 7-22 – the worst mark in the league.
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With Cunningham out for the remainder of the season, the Pistons are firmly in the sweepstakes for prized French prospect Victor Wembanyama.
Finishing with the league’s worst record would present the Pistons with a 14% chance at landing the number one pick in next summer’s draft.
The 18-year-old is averaging 23.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg and 2.8 bpg for Metropolitans 92 in France – all league-leading marks – and has his team third in the standings.
He is one of the most highly anticipated prospects to arise since a teenage LeBron James hit the scene in the early-2000s and is undoubtedly at the forefront of the Pistons’ thinking as of now.
Charlotte, Orlando, Houston and San Antonio appear to be the teams racing the Pistons to the bottom of the standings.
Outside of Wembanyama, the class is still a strong one thanks to the likes of G-League Ignite’s Scoot Henderson, Overtime Elite twins Amen and Ausar Thompson, Villanova’s Cam Whitmore and Alabama’s Brandon Miller.
Adding a star prospect alongside Detroit’s already exciting core of Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren and Saddiq Bey firms as the next big move for general manager Troy Weaver and the front office.
