With the NBA trade deadline firmly in our rearview mirror, no longer must we speculate on a player’s value moving forward due to a move to a different area code. This year, the shake-up at the deadline registered about a 6.5 on the Richter scale with some teams making a significant impact to their rosters. I hope that you were able to take advantage of any key additions off the wire or via trade in your league to capitalize on the changing values around the league.
No matter if you did or not has no affect here though as we uncover yet another player that has not been playing quite at the level we expect. I expect this young rising star to make a strong run the rest of the way on a team whose sole focus should be player development.
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Cade Cunningham
Here we go again, another rookie being highlighted in this post, making it three on the year so far. I have said it before that we could be looking at one of the best draft classes in history when we look back years from now if having high expectations this early is any indication.
The number one pick from last year’s draft has shown signs of why he was chosen first overall but on the season, he has not been the best rookie (see Evan Mobley). Some may say he has not been a top three or possibly four rookie (Giddey, Barnes, and Wagner). Despite all of this “doubt”, we are still looking at Cade as one of the most talented young guards in the league albeit from a small sample size to date.
Injury woes have somewhat derailed his rookie season but we have seen the upside and it cannot be unseen. The 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks to go along with 2.0 three’s, 15.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists is outstanding for any player, yet alone a rookie. While he is shooting only 39.5% on the season those numbers are still good enough to have him ranked 55th overall on the season. Over the past two weeks however, he is the 151st ranked player.
So what is dragging his value down?
Well, the already dreadful field goal percentage found a new low at 34.5%, which subsequently has dropped his scoring down to 12 points per contest while also converting one less three per game. We have also seen a slight dip in his rebounds and his assists, contributing negatively to his value.
Now, I would have loved to have seen Jerami Grant traded and, if I were a betting man, I would have pushed all my chips to the middle on the likelihood of that happening. Yet, here we are and there he is still a Piston and sucking up valuable usage.
No worries, though. Cade will get his as he is the future of this franchise and his growth will be prioritized. Cade has potential to be top 50-60 the rest of the way so if you are in a re-draft league, float those offers out there before your deadline hits to a manager who may not have the patience to see another sub-par game from him.
In dynasty leagues, he may be far more difficult to pry away from any GM rostering him or perhaps, he is on a team needing a little push to the money spot and you are looking towards next season. In that case, try to get him as keeper cornerstone for next year’s squad.
As always, hit me up in the comments section below and good luck.
Peace.
