The Detroit Pistons find themselves in last in the East with a 7-22 record so far this season, as their hopes of taking a step forward with a young core has not come to fruition. A major reason for that has been the absence of Cade Cunningham, who has missed all but 12 of their games this year with a shin injury.
Unfortunately for the former No. 1 overall pick, he has not seen enough improvement in his injury after a month off, and per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, he will undergo season-ending surgery.
Cunningham, who’s been sidelined since November 9, consulted with multiple doctors in recent weeks and ultimately decided with the Pistons and his representatives at Excel Sports to undergo a procedure that’s expected to have him fully recovered ahead of training camp in 2023-2024, sources said.
It is a significant blow to the Pistons, who wanted to let Cunningham and this year’s No. 5 overall selection, Jaden Ivey, spend the year getting acclimated to playing together in what they hope will be their backcourt of the future. Instead, Cunningham will have a lost year for his sophomore campaign, while Detroit will likely have to even further shift its attention to the future. In the meantime, Killian Hayes will continue to get an extended audition as he looks to solidify his place in Detroit’s rotation — or at least prove to be a rotation guard somewhere else in the NBA — alongside Ivey, and other teams will keep their eyes on veterans like Bojan Bogdanovic in hopes that the Pistons will be willing to make deals as the deadline approaches.
Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/cade-cunningham-shin-injury-update-surgery-out-season-pistons/