Detroit Pistons' 'Fade for Cade' Cunningham pays off in NBA draft lottery, fans go bonkers
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"Praise God."
That was the first thought of Detroit Pistons general manager Troy Weaver upon seeing his franchise won the 2021 NBA draft lottery Tuesday night, and own the first pick in the July 29 draft.
Finally, there is a shining beacon of hope for one of the core-four Detroit sports teams.
"We'll be ready to pick," Pistons general manager Weaver said, noting he'll look at five players at No. 1. "I'm happy I have the number one pick. I'm ecstatic ... getting the pick right, that's what I was hired for."
On the live telecast after the draft order was announced, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Oklahoma State guard/forward Cade Cunningham, the consensus No. 1 prospect, will only visit one team prior to the draft: The Pistons.
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Cunningham, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound guard/forward who turns 20 in September, averaged 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists, shooting 43.8% overall, 40% on 3-pointers and 84.6% on free throws over 27 games. The Cowboys were a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament and lost in the second round.
Here's a sampling of the reaction, starting with Detroit's own, Jalen Rose:
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When YOUR @DetroitPistons get the #1 pick in the NBA Draft @JalenRose 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 pic.twitter.com/6iorxIhOmf
— Maria Taylor (@MariaTaylor) June 23, 2021
I don’t want to take full credit here but I’m going to take partial credit. Footage was shaky but attached below. It was an appropriate first pick Tuesday night open bar celebration at the Pistons Performance Center. https://t.co/RdJp0L0opn pic.twitter.com/bFCcO4PjMv
— DK (@SpartanHoops_DK) June 23, 2021
The @DetroitPistons get the No. 1 overall pick in the draft lottery.
Will they take Cade Cunningham? 👀 pic.twitter.com/wIQTuZF8en— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 23, 2021
“AT GUARD. AT SIX FOOT EIGHT, FROM OKLAHOMA STATE. THIS IS.. CAAAAAAAADEEEE CUUUUNINGGHAAAAAMMMM” -Mason probably@DetroitPistons
— Jacob Rogers (@JRogersPOP) June 23, 2021
The Pistons just executed the greatest tank season in the history of sports. They got rid of two veterans stealing valuable minutes. They played exciting, losing basketball with young players. Two of their rookies were among the best in the league.
Perfection.— Isaac (@WorldofIsaac) June 23, 2021
Killian Hayes
Cade Cunningham
Saddiq Bey
Jerami Grant
Isaiah Stewart
That’s going to be a lot of fun.— Aaron Johnson (@AJohnsonNBA) June 23, 2021
“We got the Number One pick?!”
“Yessir!”@FearTheFro | @ripcityhamilton pic.twitter.com/bF5bdhXCCz— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) June 23, 2021
Who should the #Pistons draft with the No. 1 overall pick?
— Detroit Free Press (@freep) June 23, 2021
Y'all can get off your "Cade doesn't want to be in Detroit" jokes
But with Troy Weaver in charge, Jerami Grant turning into an all star caliber player, a nice young core building + Cade, this team is going to be a problem sooner than you think— PistonsThoughts (@PistonsThoughts) June 23, 2021
That Pistons summer league team with Cade, Stewart, Bey, Killian, and Saben Lee is going to run through Las Vegas
— Kingi (@trademarktaz) June 23, 2021
I guess it’s time to have a parade downtown!!!
— wnearhood (@nearhood1) June 23, 2021
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons' 'Fade for Cade' Cunningham pays off, fans go bonkers
