Former NBA player Chandler Parsons said the Detroit Pistons should pay Cade Cunningham $326 million or the max contract.
His main reason? It is because the team has no one else to pay.
Parsons, who received the most profitable contract in NBA history, suggested that the 2021 No. 1 overall pick is the best player the Pistons can acquire right now, given their situation in terms of draft and trade assets.
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"Who the f*** else are they gonna pay? Who are they gonna get that is better than Cade Cunningham? Who are they gonna draft? No one is going to Detroit," Parsons said in the "Run it Back Fan Duel" TV show.
"Unless it is via trade, I don't know what trade assets they have to get a player of Cade Cunningham's caliber back. Yes, I am paying him $326 million. You can see he is the best option they can possibly get. And he is a stud."
Parsons might have a point here. The team remains rebuilding after finishing as the worst team last season.
The front office is singing the same tune, too.
James Edwards of The Athletic reported that he is "99.9 percent sure that Cunningham gets an extension" and that the player not getting the max contract is what will be surprising.
"Cunningham is one of the few good things the organization currently has going for it," Edwards said.
"It needs something to show for these last few years of rebuilding/disastrous losing. Furthermore, a year removed from an injury and surgery that forced him to miss most of his second season, Cunningham put up numbers nearly identical to All-Star Paolo Banchero. He did that playing with a roster that was not best suited to his strengths and one that had 30 players suit up throughout the course of the season."
Cade Cunningham can lay the foundation
The Pistons' movement this offseason was very limited. There is no way but up for them in its truest sense.
Here are some arguments why the Pistons should slow down investing it all in their main player.
The Houston Rockets were in a similar situation as the Pistons before last season.
Their 2023-2024 season campaign qualifies as successful in their rebuild after almost making the play-in. That is all thanks to their marquee signing during the summer. The team signed Fred Van Vleet and Dillon Brooks to massive deals.
Rockets would not be as competitive if they were not able to attract quality players via free agency.
There is a good argument that the Pistons should spend that money on signing players who will make them worth watching in the seasons to come.
Now, here are some arguments why Cunningham deserves the max contract.
They need someone to remain watchable, and that is Cunningham.
The 22-year-old Oklahoma State standout is producing almost the same numbers as LaMelo Ball during his third year before he received a max contract.
Cunningham has proven himself a worthy cornerstone of an NBA franchise but needs the proper support to maximize his talent.
For now, he will receive the max contract, but he will have to prove himself worthy of it. It is not just that, though. Management needs to be more active in surrounding him with quality players.
It is going to be another long season for the Pistons.
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