Cade Cunningham Will Undergo Season-Ending Shin Surgery
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Detroit Pistons guard, Cade Cunningham, plans to have season-ending surgery on his left shin. Cunningham, last year’s number-one overall pick, has been out for the past month, with his previous game action coming on November 9th.
The initial plan for Cunningham was to rest and rehab the shin, hoping it would improve naturally. However, after speaking with multiple doctors, he has decided to undergo surgery and be ready for next year’s training camp. This isn’t the first time Cunningham has dealt with an injury in his young, but promising NBA career. Last season, Cunningham wasn’t physically ready to play to begin the regular season with an ankle injury. The guard missed all of training camp, preseason, and the first five games last season and missed 18 games the entire season.
In 12 games this season for Detroit, Cunningham put up slightly better numbers than his rookie year. The former Oklahoma State guard averaged nearly 20 points per game, with 6.2 rebounds and 6 assists per game. Last season, where he finished third overall in the Rookie of the Year voting, Cunningham averaged 17.4 points per game, along with 5.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game.
With Cunningham out, Detroit will miss a whole season of development from the face of the franchise guard. After showing plenty of flashes toward the end of last season and the start of this season, Detroit will have to wait until the start of the 2023 season to see Cunningham surrounded by the young nucleus Detroit has in place.
Detroit wasn’t going to win anything this year. However, letting Cunningham develop alongside their fellow young players had to be one of their biggest goals this season. Cunningham has barely played with the other young talent in Detroit. Jaden Ivey, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart, and Jalen Duren will just have to wait until next year to build chemistry with their point guard.
As of now, the Pistons are the worst team in the NBA with a 7-22 record. Losing Cunningham for the rest of the year will sting for Pistons fans. However, if the Pistons keep losing, Troy Weaver, Detroit’s General Manager, might fall into the perfect scenario. Gaining the top overall pick and landing the services of Victor Wembanyama, one of the best prospects ever, would be perfect. The Pistons would have an extremely bright future with a lineup of Wembayama, Ivey, and a healthy Cunningham.
