Pistons keep No. 1 pick, select Cunningham
NEW YORK — Waiting is almost always hard to do.
It’s especially hard for the Pistons and their fan base, who have struggled through more than a decade without a win in the playoffs.
Times are changing.
General manager Troy Weaver kick-started his roster restoration with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, selecting Oklahoma State freshman Cade Cunningham on Thursday night.
The crowd at Barclays Center cheered as Cunningham, donning an all-black suit, black shirt and black tie, strode to the stage to shake hands with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
The Pistons were focused on Cunningham, an uber-talented 6-foot-8 wing, since they won the draft lottery last month. With the pick now official, Cunningham, 19, will fit into their rebuild nicely, alongside last year’s first-round picks, guard Killian Hayes, wing Saddiq Bey and center Isaiah Stewart, as well as forward Jerami Grant.
The pick ends weeks of speculation that the Pistons were considering trading the top selection to acquire more future assets to help in Weaver’s roster rebuild. The Pistons also were interested in G League guard Jalen Green — the No. 2 pick by the Houston Rockets — but after a final meeting with Cunningham and his representatives on Wednesday night, the Pistons met Thursday morning and decided to select Cunningham.
After a 20-52 season, the Pistons showed that they have plenty of improvement to make before they’re a contending team, but adding Cunningham, who has a rare blend of size, ball handling, scoring and leadership, puts a major piece to the puzzle.
Cunningham’s versatility will allow him to play several positions on the court, including either guard spot, small forward, or potentially power forward in a small-ball lineup. There has been some concern that he and Hayes would have trouble playing together.
Mike Boynton, Cunningham’s coach at Oklahoma State, has seen enough to know there isn’t an issue there and that Cunningham can blend into a variety of lineups.
“Cade could play with any combination of players. If you have another primary ballhandler — there’s been some talk about Killian — but they absolutely can play together,” Boynton said this month. “If you didn’t have a primary ballhandling playmaker, he could be that guy. He can play with that guy or with two other guys, and still find a way because he doesn’t have an ego about having the ball all the time or taking the most shots. With his size and skill, you can move him around anywhere.”
The likely scenario is that Cunningham will join Hayes in the backcourt and they will share ball-handling duties as needed. Coach Dwane Casey has preferred lineups with multiple ball-handlers and facilitators, and those are two areas where Cunningham excels.
Cunningham has ideal size to defend shooting guards and will give the Pistons multiple options, where he could guard some small forwards as well. On offense, he has the ability to score (20.1 points) and adds rebounding (6.2) and consistent shooting (43.8% from the field) to his resume.
“Wherever I get placed, I feel like I’ll find ways to be effective and to help impact the game for my squad,” Cunningham said in his pre-draft media availability last week. “When I go into training camp or wherever I land, I’m still going to try to go in and play my game. I’m not going to change myself for anybody, but I’ll always adjust for winning, for sure.”
His arrival is expected to jump-start the Pistons’ offense with another facilitator and player whom other defenses will have to game plan around. That, in turn, will open shots for the shooters like Bey and Grant.
“He’s an elite playmaker. He can create a shot without a coach’s help, because he knows what to do,” Boynton said. “He’ll identify in the first Summer League game who is good at what and he’ll be able to get those guys shots where they need to get shots “He’ll know when to pick his spots to try to get his own, but he’s not going to just go out there and just take a bunch of shots.”
Cunningham was the Big 12 player of the year and an AllAmerica selection in his one year at Oklahoma State, and his skill set has drawn comparisons to another Pistons icon, Grant Hill.
That should be enough to make Pistons fans anxious for the start of the Summer League in Las Vegas, which begins next week.
Warriors draft Kuminga at No. 7, Moody at No. 14
With the seventh pick in Thursday’s draft, the Warriors selected Jonathan Kuminga, a physically gifted forward who played last season for the G League Ignite.
The 18-year-old Kuminga averaged 15.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists playing in Walnut Creek as part of the G League Ignite program, a first-of-its-kind developmental team that mixed top collegeaged prospects (including No. 2 pick Jalen Green) with seasoned professionals such as Jarrett Jack.
Once considered an option to be selected first in this draft, Kuminga offered the most upside of anyone left on the board and joins second-year center James Wiseman as potential future building blocks for when Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green age out of their primes. The former five-star recruit had his name called while in the draft green room at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“Me being selected by Golden State, it’s the perfect team for my career,” Kuminga, wearing a tangerine-colored suit and blue Warriors cap, said in a video conference. “I want to have a Hall of Fame career.”
While Kuminga is a tantalizing athlete with a rare blend of size, strength and go-to scoring potential, Golden State will need to coax more consistent shooting and defense from the 6-foot-8 Congo native and be patient as he learns to play within the flow of an NBA offense.
“I feel like my game will go from the bottom to the top in a couple of months,” Kuminga said.
Ultimately, Kuminga’s potential was too much for Golden State to turn down even with more NBA-ready prospects such as UConn guard James Bouknight and
Michigan forward Franz Wagner on the board. With each of the core stars beyond 30 years old, the front office jumped on a chance to land a future AllStar in a part of the draft it does not intend on picking from again in the foreseeable future. Kuminga also would have significant value in a trade should the front office want to put a package together for a star.
With the 14th pick, the Warriors selected Moses Moody, a rangy wing who averaged 16.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists on 42.7% shooting and 35.8% from 3-point range as a freshman at Arkansas.
The 19-year-old will be expected to make an instant impact on a veteran-dominated roster that aspires to return to title contention. At 6-foot-6 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, Moody has the tools to defend multiple positions and space the floor as a “3-and-D” wing.
— Wes Goldberg, The Mercury News
Kings select Baylor PG Davion Mitchell at No. 9
The Kings selected Baylor guard Davion Mitchell with the No. 9 pick in the NBA draft Thursday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The Kings passed on Arkansas guard Moses Moody, UConn guard James Bouknight and Turkish big man Alperen Sengun to select Mitchell, a 6-foot-1 1/4 point guard with a big reputation for defense.
Mitchell, widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the draft, averaged 14.0 points, 5.5 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals as a junior at Baylor, leading the Bears to their first NCAA championship.
Mitchell shot 51.1% from the field and 44.7% from 3-point range, but converted just 64.1% of his free-throw attempts. ESPN analysts described Mitchell as a relentless driver and tenacious defender, calling him the “best on-ball defender in this draft.”
There were no surprises at the top of the draft as the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham with the No. 1 pick, the Houston Rockets took Jalen Green with the No. 2 pick and the Cleveland Cavaliers took Evan Mobley at No. 3. The Toronto Raptors passed on Jalen Suggs to pick Scottie Barnes at No. 4, allowing the Orlando Magic to take Suggs at No. 5.
The Oklahoma City Thunder made an unexpected choice in selection Australian point guard Josh Giddey with the No. 6 pick.
The Golden State Warriors picked Jonathan Kuminga with the No. 7 pick and Franz Wagner went to Orlando at No. 8, leaving the Kings with their choice of Bouknight, Moody, Alperen Sengun and Mitchell.
The Kings made their selection hours after their trade talks with the Los Angeles Lakers were torpedoed by a blockbuster deal involving nine-time All-Star and former MVP Russell Westbrook. Discussion of a deal that would have sent Kings guard Buddy Hield to the Lakers came to an abrupt end when the Lakers pivoted to acquire Westbrook from the Washington Wizards instead.
The Lakers were reportedly willing to offer some combination of Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious CaldwellPope and the No. 22 pick in the NBA draft in a deal for Hield. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported there was momentum toward the completion of a deal at 2 p.m. when Harrell picked up his $9.7 million player option for next season, but 16 minutes later The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported the Lakers were discussing a deal that would send Kuzma, Harrell, Caldwell-Pope and draft compensation to the Wizards for Westbrook.
One of the hang-ups in a potential Kings-Lakers deal was Harrell’s decision to opt in for next season. When Wojnarowski reported Harrell was opting in, he noted the decision would allow the Lakers to “move toward completing a deal to acquire Kings guard Buddy Hield,” although he noted the deal had not been agreed upon.
That conversation changed quickly when Charania reported the Lakers and Wizards were in serious talks on a trade that would send Westbrook, a nine-time All-Star and former MVP, to Los Angeles to join LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Wojnarowski confirmed the Lakers and Wizards were nearing a deal. At 5:15 p.m., shortly after the start of the draft, Charania reported the Wizards had agreed to send Westbrook to the Lakers for Kuzma, Harrell, Caldwell-Pope and the No. 22 pick in the draft.
— Jason Anderson, The Sacramento Bee