DETROIT — Everything will be bigger from here on out. The workload and the responsibilities. The spotlight and the expectations, too.
Knowing that, Cade Cunningham decided he’ll need to be bigger as well if he wants to handle it all. And at first glance, it’s obvious that the Pistons’ young star is, in fact, growing to meet the moment.
“He looks like a different dude than he was last year,” head coach Dwane Casey laughed Monday as the Pistons gathered at Little Caesars Arena for their annual media day. “I didn't recognize him when I first saw him.”
That’s a bit of an exaggeration, obviously, but Cunningham’s bulked-up body is noticeable. And it is certainly notable as Casey’s up-and-coming roster hits the court Tuesday for the start of training camp.
Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick who led all NBA rookies in scoring (17.3 ppg) last season, added 15-20 pounds of lean muscle to his 6-foot-6 frame over the spring and summer. And after finishing last season’s grueling 64-game debut at a waning 210 pounds, he’s talking confidently about just what this new-and-improved physique will mean going forward.
“Yeah, there's been a few times already where I've felt a lot stronger on the court,” Cunningham said. “I feel like it's helped me get to my spots a little easier. So it’s just making me feel a little bit more free on the court, like I can get wherever I want. And I think that’ll help with my whole mindset around the game − and my confidence.”
And, really, it’s that mindset – that confidence – that is at the heart of much of the optimism surrounding these Pistons, a group that general manager Troy Weaver says is officially in a “competing stage” after 2 full years of a complete roster overhaul.
“I feel like we finally have a full complement of players,” he said Monday.
It’ll take some time to see just how well they all complement each other, of course, as Casey and his staff spend the next week of camp − and a handful of preseason games after that − tinkering with lineups before the regular season tips off Oct. 19 against Orlando.
But everything will revolve around Cunningham, who as a 20-year-old rookie proved to be everything the Pistons hoped he was when they hit the lottery, flashing some of those traits that made him a can’t-miss prospect: The all-around game, the preternatural poise, the commanding presence.
Now they just want to see more of it.
“He has demonstrated that he can be a big-time player in spots,” Weaver said, when I asked him what he hoped Cade 2.0 would look like this season. “We need him to be consistent. You’ve got to be really good before you can be great, and we don’t want him to skip any steps trying to be great.”
Still, the fact that Cunningham took the steps he did this offseason – both at the Pistons’ practice facility with Trent Salo, the team’s director of sports performance, and with his team that includes his older brother, Cannen, and cousin Ashton Bennings – is just one more sign that he's on the right track.
And now everyone’s eager to see how it’ll translate on the court, though to hear teammate Isaiah Livers talk, the early returns already are in at the Pistons’ Performance Center.
“Once he came back, and he put his body on me – we were playing 1-on-1 or something – it was, like, ‘Dang, OK,’” Livers said.
The coaching staff expects it to show up in Cunningham's rebounding and his on-ball defense, for starters. But also in areas where you might not expect. Casey will tell you some of the foul trouble Cunningham found far too quickly in games as a rookie was indirectly tied to his strength. Same with the turnover issues (3.7 per game last season) that actually led Cunningham to chart his giveaways throughout the offseason to “better understand my own game.”
But more than anything, the added weight should help him absorb all the punishment he’ll take as the Pistons’ centerpiece. Cunningham’s team-high usage rate (27.5 percent) last season figures to be even higher in Year 2, even with the addition of a new backcourt running mate in Jaden Ivey and another proven scorer in veteran forward Bojan Bogdanovich. Opponents’ scouting reports still will begin with Cunningham.
“They’re gonna put probably their best defender on Cade, to try to beat him up,” Casey said. “And I think (the extra weight) is going to help him take those bumps and hits and still have balance and power to finish the play.”
It’s also about finishing games, though, because that’s where the true value of a player like Cunningham lies in the NBA: Those fourth-quarter minutes where wins and losses are decided.
And beyond that, it’s about finishing the season in the best shape possible, which is a task that Cunningham now fully understands having gone through it once himself.
The nonstop schedule of travel and games and practices takes a toll on everyone in the NBA. But for someone only a year removed from high school, it can be a unique challenge. So among the things Cunningham learned was the need to stay vigilant about hydration, to get more sleep and to pack more calories into his vegan diet.
“All those things, I think I have a better feel for now,” Cunningham said.
And that's the point here: The better he feels, the stronger the Pistons look.
