Cade Cunningham, Pistons Agree to Five-Year, $224M Max Rookie Extension

Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons have agreed to a five-year, $224 million maximum rookie extension that could become worth as much as $269 million, his agents Jeff Schwartz and James Dunleavy of Excel Basketball announced on Tuesday.

Cade Cunningham can elevate his extension to 30% of the Detroit Pistons’ salary cap with an All-NBA nod next season

Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 NBA draft out of Oklahoma State, can elevate the deal to 30% of the team’s salary cap by earning All-NBA honors next season, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon made Cunningham’s extension a priority upon taking over the job several weeks ago and negotiated a deal with Schwartz and Dunleavy.

Despite missing most of his second season with a stress fracture in his left leg, Cunningham still exceeded expectations in the 2023-2024 season on a 14-win Pistons team.

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham has agreed on a five-year, $224 million maximum rookie extension that could become worth as much as $269 million, his agents Jeff Schwartz and James Dunleavy of @ExcelBasketball tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/5UHrrqPyRY

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 9, 2024

In 62 games (all starts), he averaged career highs of 22.7 points, 7.5 assists, and 33.5 minutes per game.

In addition to averaging 4.3 rebounds per game, Cunningham also shot career bests of 44.9% from the field, 35.5% from 3-point range, and 86.9% at the free throw line.

Cunningham notched a career-high 43 points against the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 18

According to the Basketball-Reference database, he finished 19th in assists (464), eighth in assists per game, 11th in turnovers (212), and fifth in assist percentage (37.5%).

Cade Cunningham, who turns 23 on Sept. 25, had other career bests in player efficiency rating (17.1), true shooting percentage (54.6%), and usage percentage (30.8%).

In Detroit’s 130-124 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 18, he recorded a career-high 43 points on 16-of-24 (66.7%) shooting from the floor, 3-of-5 (60%) from deep, and 8-of-9 (88.9%) at the line.

The 6-foot-6, 220-pound guard also ranked in the top 10 in average touch length, dribbles per touch, on-ball screens used, and drives per game, according to Second Spectrum.

In other news, JB Bickerstaff is now officially the Oklahoma State product’s third coach in three seasons of his NBA career. Cade Cunningham has also played for Monty Williams and Dwane Casey.