Monty Williams: Why Booker Comparisons Are Unfair to Cade Cunningham

Monty Williams doesn't believe Cade Cunningham is on the same timeline as Devin Booker currently.

Facing the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night, Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams coached against a lot of familiar faces. Being that he oversaw the operation of his opponent just one season ago, Williams was hit with a lot of questions about his return to Phoenix for the first time since he took the job over in Detroit.

With more than half the 2023-2024 NBA season in the bag, Williams is quite comfortable with the core players on the Pistons at this point. It’s no secret that Williams’ biggest focus moving forward will be on the Pistons’ former first-overall pick, Cade Cunningham.

Just a few seasons ago, Williams found himself in a similar position as where he’s at right now. When he left the Philadelphia 76ers’ bench for a head coaching role with the Suns, he inherited a young and struggling roster that had a young star at the top of the roster in Devin Booker.

In Detroit, Williams signed on with a young and struggling Pistons squad headlined by Cunningham. From the outside looking in, the situation seems identical. 

But in Monty Williams’s eyes, it’s unfair to compare Cunningham and Booker right now.

“I think they’re in different places,” Williams told reporters in Phoenix on Wednesday. “Cade was out all last year, so this is basically his second year. By the time I got to Book, he had already had a lot of success scoring a few thousand points already, 70-point games, all that. I think it’s different.”

Williams’s first two seasons in Phoenix were like night and day. After missing the playoffs, the Suns made a run to the NBA Finals, with Booker being the star of the show. Under the belief that Booker’s experience played a large role in that success, Williams doesn’t want to add pressure on Cunningham when the Pistons return for the 2024-2025 season.

“The talent, for sure, is there,” Williams said in regards to Cunningham. “I tried to have an open mind with Cade and not put him in a box and say, ‘You have to be this player.’ I want to coach him to be the best version of Cade, but they’re both gifted players. To compare Cade to Book, I don’t think that’s fair. Book’s in a different class, and he’s accomplished a lot. Cade wants all of that, but he’s just not as far down the assembly line.”

Cunningham’s first season in the NBA was met with praise, as he earned Rookie of the Year honors while playing under former Detroit head coach Dwane Casey. Last season, Cunningham’s sophomore effort was cut way short to just 12 games due to an injury.

Throughout his third season so far, Cunningham has outdone himself by averaging career-highs in major categories, including points, assists, field goal, and three-point percentage. While he hasn’t reached Booker’s level of stardom just yet, he should benefit from the presence of Williams, who managed to do a lot for the Suns’ four-time NBA All-Star.