NBA Analyst Takes Jab at Pistons Star Cade Cunningham

Skip Bayless has thoughts on Detroit Pistons star, Cade Cunningham.

Mar 27, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) drives to the / Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

During the 2021 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham with the first overall selection. One analyst recently took a jab at the young guard while praising one of the players picked just after him.

One of the biggest stories in the NBA right now is the play of Jalen Green and the Houston
Rockets. They are one of the hottest teams in basketball, largely in part of the play of the former lottery pick. In the month of March, Green is averaging 28.5 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 3.7 APG. In this stretch, the Rockets have gone 12-1 and are now fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament.

As Green continues this impressive run, Skip Bayless decided to bring back an old take he had from the 2021 draft. He felt Green was a better prospect than Cunningham at the moment, and still thinks he is the better player now.

I said for weeks ahead of that draft I'd take Jalen Green over Cade Cunningham bc Green was so much more offensively explosive. Now, without Sengun, Jalen Green is finally turning into a STAR.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 28, 2024

Multiple factors need to be brought up when discussing the two top picks of the 2021 draft. For starters, Cunningham has had less time on the floor after missing a majority of last season due to injury. On top of that, Green has a much stronger talent pool around him compared to the Pistons guard at the moment.

Looking at the season as a whole, Cunningham has posted better averages than Green. Not to mention he’s done so as the top option every night. Through 60 games this season, Cunningham is averaging 22.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 7.5 APG. As for Green, he is posting 19.8
PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 3.4 APG on the year.

Green deserves his flowers for how he’s elevated his game as of late. That said, the jury is still out on which of these top picks is the better player.