Cade Cunningham Reveals Thoughts on Pistons’ Major Change

Cade Cunningham offered his thoughts on the Pistons' addition of a new head coach.

Mar 29, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) prepares to dribble against Washington Wizards forward Anthony Gill (16) during the third quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images | Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

Since Cade Cunningham entered the NBA, the former No. 1 overall pick has seen multiple coaching changes. Two years ago, the Detroit Pistons saw Dwane Casey step down and transition to a front-office role. The organization then targeted former Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams.

Last year, Cunningham anticipated learning under Williams for at least six seasons. Stability is exactly what a young and developing star guard could use in the NBA.

However, the Pistons didn’t know just how bad everything would go in 2023-2024.

A franchise-worst losing streak was all of the talk around the league for quite some time. By the end of the year, the Pistons finished with a 14-68 record. It was clear that changes were coming to the front office. Once that happened, changes to the coaching staff followed shortly after.

Monty Williams was cut loose after one season. The Pistons fired up another coaching search and landed on former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Entering his fourth season with a new head coach for the third time, Cunningham understands it will be a process to perfect it—but he doesn’t anticipate too many changes in terms of the system they are running.

“That's definitely a learning curve,” Cunningham told reporters, according to MLive’s Kory Woods. ”It's challenging. End of the day, a lot of the stuff is the same, just different terminologies."

Cunningham on playing for a different head again: "That's definitely a learning curve...it's challenging. End of the day, a lot of the stuff is the same, just different terminologies."

— Kory Woods (@KoryEWoods) September 30, 2024

Cunningham’s team struggled during his third season, but the guard had his best season under Williams from a personal standpoint. In 62 games, the former top pick produced 23 points on 45 percent shooting from the field and 36 percent shooting from three.

In the playmaking department, Cunningham dished out eight assists per game while turning the ball over three times on a nightly basis.

Major management changes called for minor, yet critical tweaks to the team’s roster for next year. Building with Cunningham in mind, the Pistons feel they added the right veterans to surround Cunningham with. They hope Bickerstaff is the coach who can help put it all together.