Cade Cunningham's All-NBA nod made him extra $45 million: How it affects Pistons cap space
Cade Cunningham just made himself an extra $45 million.
Cunningham was officially named third-Team All-NBA on Friday, May 23, before Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.
It means Cunningham's five-year, $224 million contract extension signed in July 2024 has ballooned to $269 million over five years.
Advertisement
The All-NBA honor puts a golden stamp on the breakout season for the 23-year-old Cunningham, in which he earned an All-Star berth and led the Detroit Pistons to their best season in 17 years.
Free Press Pistons beat writer Omari Sankofa II voted Cunningham to the second team on his official ballot cast immediately after the regular season.
LOOKING AHEAD: Jalen Rose has simple offseason plan for Detroit Pistons: 'Just get healthy'
It was a career year for Cunningham, the 2021 No. 1 overall pick out of Oklahoma State, who averaged 26.1 points, 9.1 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game to firmly establish himself among the top guards in the NBA. The Pistons finished 44-38 — tying their best record since 2007-08 — and snapped a 17-year streak without a playoff win.
Advertisement
Cunningham averaged 25 points on 42.6% shooting, 8.7 assists (to 5.3 turnovers) and 8.3 rebounds in the six-game first-round playoff series loss to the New York Knicks, but helped the Pistons steal two road wins, stopping the franchise's NBA-record 15-game playoff losing streak.
He's the first Piston to make an All-NBA roster since Blake Griffin was named third-team All-NBA in 2018-19, which was the last time the team made the playoffs until this season.
Cade Cunningham max contract increases with All-NBA nod
Pistons guard Cade Cunningham celebrates his blocked shot with forward Tobias Harris at the buzzer, leading to a 122-121 win against the Atlanta Hawks at Little Caesars Arena on Nov. 8, 2024 in Detroit.
Cunningham is due for a massive raise next season, which will be the first season of the maximum rookie extension he signed last summer. His five-year, $224 million contract — 25% of the NBA cap in Year 1 — will increase to 30% of the cap because of the "Derrick Rose" rule, which a player qualifies for if they make an All-NBA team before the extension kicks in.
Advertisement
It bumps the total value of Cunningham's max contract to $269 million, a $45 million increase in all, or $9 million per year on average. That's an increase from $44.8 average annual value to $53.8 million.
Cunningham's starting salary in 2025-26 will increase from $38.6 million to $46.4 million.
Cunningham made $45.6 million over his four-year rookie contract.
He was the first Pistons draft pick to sign a max rookie extension with the team since Andre Drummond signed did so in 2016 for five years and $127 million.
ANALYSIS: How Pistons can crush 2025 offseason and earn 'A' grade
Pistons cap space affected by Cade Cunningham contract
Cunningham's All-NBA nod reduces the Pistons' cap space in the 2025 offseason from around $27 million to roughly $19 million.
Advertisement
The Pistons have enough money and resources to bring back some of their veterans, with Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., Dennis Schröder and Paul Reed all entering unrestricted free agency. It's ultimately a good problem to have, but it will make navigating their cap down the road a little tricker as center Jalen Duren, guard Jaden Ivey and other young players become eligible for their own rookie extensions.
[ MUST WATCH: Make "The Pistons Pulse" your go-to Detroit Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
Follow the Pistons all year long with the best coverage at freep.com/sports/pistons.
Advertisement
Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it online or in print.
Follow the Detroit Free Press on Instagram (@detroitfreepress), TikTok (@detroitfreepress), YouTube (@DetroitFreePress), X (@freep), and LinkedIn, and like us on Facebook (@detroitfreepress).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Cade Cunningham contract: How All-NBA nod affects Pistons cap space
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trendlines: The smallest markets are winning the NBA finals
Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers is defended by Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter in Game One of the 2025 NBA Finals. -Welcome to Trendlines, your weekly installment of what's trending up and what's trending down in sports. This week we're talking about the NBA Finals, and the emergence of the small market team. Think about the iconic NBA franchises: The Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and, if you indulge me, the New York Knickerbockers. Advertisement This NBA Finals features two nicknames to never win an NBA title: the Thunder and Pacers. These two teams are from not-so-iconic American cities: Oklahoma City and Indianapolis. So let's start there with a big downswing. Trending down – The combined size of the home media markets for NBA finals' teams: Down 3 million homes from 2024 I'm being a bit charitable here with being down 3 million. I've rounded down. Indianapolis has a little over 1 million homes in its media market. Oklahoma City has well under a million. Combined they have a little less than 2 million homes. What a change from 2024 when the Finals teams (Boston and Dallas) each have over 2 million homes in their media markets. Advertisement But it's not just from last year from which we've seen a tremendous shift. Indeed, I plugged in the current media market size for every Finals team since the early 1980s. Based on the current rankings, this is the Finals with the smallest teams' media markets in at least the last 40 years. Trending down – The average NBA Finals' team worth: Down $1.4 billion from 2024 It's not just the media markets where we can see how the Pacers and Thunder are small markets. Take a look at the valuation for each franchise. Both teams are worth under $4 billion. Now, that is still a billion with a 'b', but last year the two teams were worth about $5 billion on average. Advertisement The fact that we have one small market team in the Finals isn't that unusual. Both of these teams have been in the finals before. What makes this year truly unique is that we have two teams worth so little at the same time. In fact, there hasn't been an NBA Finals' with two teams in the bottom 10 in the league in terms of worth since at least the early 1990s. Trending up – Players under the age of 25 on NBA finals' teams: Up 2 players from 2024 Small market doesn't mean unexciting. Tyrese Haliburton ridiculously clutch shooting in Game 1 proves that. What makes Haliburton's production so amazing is he was still 24 on February 1 of this year. He's one of 18 players who have suited up for these squads who were under 25 on that date. Advertisement That's a record since at least the early 1980s These are young and fresh players beyond just Haliburton. Thunder's star Jalen Williams clocks in at a mere 24 years old. His teammate Chet Holmgren is 23. We're looking at squads that could be good for years to come. Dare I say that, by the time it's all done, it may be Bulls, Celtics, Knicks, Lakers… and Pacers or Thunder on the pantheon of iconic NBA teams. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Trendlines: The smallest markets are winning the NBA finals
Welcome to Trendlines, your weekly installment of what's trending up and what's trending down in sports. This week we're talking about the NBA Finals, and the emergence of the small market team. Think about the iconic NBA franchises: The Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and, if you indulge me, the New York Knickerbockers. This NBA Finals features two nicknames to never win an NBA title: the Thunder and Pacers. These two teams are from not-so-iconic American cities: Oklahoma City and Indianapolis. So let's start there with a big downswing. I'm being a bit charitable here with being down 3 million. I've rounded down. Indianapolis has a little over 1 million homes in its media market. Oklahoma City has well under a million. Combined they have a little less than 2 million homes. What a change from 2024 when the Finals teams (Boston and Dallas) each have over 2 million homes in their media markets. But it's not just from last year from which we've seen a tremendous shift. Indeed, I plugged in the current media market size for every Finals team since the early 1980s. Based on the current rankings, this is the Finals with the smallest teams' media markets in at least the last 40 years. It's not just the media markets where we can see how the Pacers and Thunder are small markets. Take a look at the valuation for each franchise. Both teams are worth under $4 billion. Now, that is still a billion with a 'b', but last year the two teams were worth about $5 billion on average. The fact that we have one small market team in the Finals isn't that unusual. Both of these teams have been in the finals before. What makes this year truly unique is that we have two teams worth so little at the same time. In fact, there hasn't been an NBA Finals' with two teams in the bottom 10 in the league in terms of worth since at least the early 1990s. Small market doesn't mean unexciting. Tyrese Haliburton ridiculously clutch shooting in Game 1 proves that. What makes Haliburton's production so amazing is he was still 24 on February 1 of this year. He's one of 18 players who have suited up for these squads who were under 25 on that date. That's a record since at least the early 1980s These are young and fresh players beyond just Haliburton. Thunder's star Jalen Williams clocks in at a mere 24 years old. His teammate Chet Holmgren is 23. We're looking at squads that could be good for years to come. Dare I say that, by the time it's all done, it may be Bulls, Celtics, Knicks, Lakers… and Pacers or Thunder on the pantheon of iconic NBA teams.
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Trendlines: The smallest markets are winning the NBA finals
Welcome to Trendlines, your weekly installment of what's trending up and what's trending down in sports. This week we're talking about the NBA Finals, and the emergence of the small market team. Think about the iconic NBA franchises: The Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and, if you indulge me, the New York Knickerbockers. This NBA Finals features two nicknames to never win an NBA title: the Thunder and Pacers. These two teams are from not-so-iconic American cities: Oklahoma City and Indianapolis. So let's start there with a big downswing. I'm being a bit charitable here with being down 3 million. I've rounded down. Indianapolis has a little over 1 million homes in its media market. Oklahoma City has well under a million. Combined they have a little less than 2 million homes. What a change from 2024 when the Finals teams (Boston and Dallas) each have over 2 million homes in their media markets. But it's not just from last year from which we've seen a tremendous shift. Indeed, I plugged in the current media market size for every Finals team since the early 1980s. Based on the current rankings, this is the Finals with the smallest teams' media markets in at least the last 40 years. It's not just the media markets where we can see how the Pacers and Thunder are small markets. Take a look at the valuation for each franchise. Both teams are worth under $4 billion. Now, that is still a billion with a 'b', but last year the two teams were worth about $5 billion on average. The fact that we have one small market team in the Finals isn't that unusual. Both of these teams have been in the finals before. What makes this year truly unique is that we have two teams worth so little at the same time. In fact, there hasn't been an NBA Finals' with two teams in the bottom 10 in the league in terms of worth since at least the early 1990s. Small market doesn't mean unexciting. Tyrese Haliburton ridiculously clutch shooting in Game 1 proves that. What makes Haliburton's production so amazing is he was still 24 on February 1 of this year. He's one of 18 players who have suited up for these squads who were under 25 on that date. That's a record since at least the early 1980s These are young and fresh players beyond just Haliburton. Thunder's star Jalen Williams clocks in at a mere 24 years old. His teammate Chet Holmgren is 23. We're looking at squads that could be good for years to come. Dare I say that, by the time it's all done, it may be Bulls, Celtics, Knicks, Lakers… and Pacers or Thunder on the pantheon of iconic NBA teams.
