If you hate the Pistons, you want them to offer Cade the max. He's a good player, but the minute the ink is dry, he becomes a net negative for their franchise. IMO, this is one of the few times I believe it might be better to trade a player for next to nothing vs overpaying him. Albatross contracts are franchise killers. Don't forget Monty Williams is still the coach and might be there 2-3 more years because of his contract.
Trade Jalen right now lol They can totally offer him a deal next off-season or just match an offer in RFA. Unless you are LeBron, Doncic, Wemby, there is no reason for these types of rookie extensions.
Future contracts should look like 3+1 or 4+1 ......either player option or team option. 45 a year is not the world in my opinion these days......it is a gamble for sure. The gripe here is not only the so called albatross but that the Pistons stay a smaller market, they always be a smaller market therefore dooming them to take a back seat to all the bigger markets and FA appeal or sign and trade appeal. Cade is a decent Secondary Option IMHO when things are said and done and injury prone.
While I still question whether they should max him out, doing so would probably not ruin their cap situation because the new media deals will cause the cap to increase so much.
I just feel like you should win more than 20 games in a single season at least once before they throw a quarter of a billion dollars at you. But that's just me.
I know why ESPN/Athletic etc run these but the whole "anonymous scout - anonymous GM - anonymous coach" genre of stories seems like a great, accountability free way to settle scores, troll your enemies, and generally make mischief. If somebody ever hacked & leaked one of those guys it would be really somethin.
There is zero reason to feel bad for Cade Cunningham. Dumbest thing I've ever heard. The guy is 22 years-old, has only played in half of Pistons games in 3 years in the NBA and has a guaranteed $226 million coming his way the next 5 years. This is a very good script for him. If someone had showed this to him and his family prior to the 2021 NBA draft, they probably would have cried with hysterical joy.
