Pistons to sign Cade Cunningham to five-year extension

The exact value of Cunningham’s extension is currently unknown. If the salary cap rises by 10% in 2025-26, which is when the extension will kick in, it would be worth $220M+.

ESPN’s Bobby Marks hears (via X) that while Detroit and Cunningham have discussed an extension, a deal doesn’t appear to be imminent.

After a promising 2021-22 campaign which saw Cunningham finish third in Rookie of the Year voting, the 22-year-old was limited to just 12 games due to season-ending surgery in 2022-23. Despite the Pistons finishing with the NBA’s worst record in 2023-24, Cunningham had a strong third season, averaging 22.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 7.5 APG and 0.9 SPG on .449/.355/.869 shooting in 62 games (33.5 MPG).

Assuming Cunningham’s contract comes to fruition, which seems likely, he would join Raptors forward Scottie Barnes as the second player from the 2021 draft class to agree to a rookie scale extension. The full list of players eligible for rookie scale deals can be found right here.

While Barnes agreed to an extension that features Rose rule language, potentially allowing him to earn 30% of the 2025-26 salary cap instead of 25%, the terms Charania and Edwards reported suggest that Cunningham might not have gotten that offer from Detroit. Either way, it’s a major commitment to the 6-foot-6 guard, who will earn $13.94M in 2024-25, which is the final season of his rookie scale contract.