The Detroit Pistons are buying into their young core. The team has reportedly decided to exercise their 2024-25 options for three of their key young players. Those players being Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, and Jaden Ivey. Cunningham and Ivy make up a promising backcourt for the future and Jalen Duren has put his name on the NBA map this season and is a walking double-double for the Young Detroit Pistons. The team currently has a win-loss record of 2-2 and are trying their best to stay competitive in the Eastern Conference. Time will tell what kind of jump they potentially make this season. While the team is still a squad who is in a rebuilding process, the fans can at least look to the future for hope.
Detroit Pistons Exercise 24-25 Options for Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, and Jaden Ivy
Cade Cunningham’s Impact
Cade Cunningham is a former number one overall pick. However, after missing last season due to injury, it is hard to predict the trajectory of his career. So far, he has put up respectable numbers. For his career, Cunningham has tallied 18.0 points, 5.7 assists, and 5.5 total rebounds per game. He is still a relatively inefficient shooter as he currently possesses a below average field goal shooting percentage of 41.6 percent to couple with an effective field goal percentage 46.9 percent. As he continues to progress and grow as a young guard in today’s NBA, these percentages will hopefully improve. All in all, Cunningham’s ceiling is still high and it makes sense why the Detroit Pistons want to keep him as their point guard of the future.
Jalen Duren’s Impact
Jalen Duren has been a revelation to the entire league so far this season. He is already averaging 15.5 points, 13.3 total rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game this season. Not to mention, Duren is becoming a great pick and roll option paired with Cade Cunningham and is one of two players this season averaging a double-double while shooting 60.0 percent or better (Nikola Jokic being the other player). Duren has also surpassed LeBron James for another impressive accolade, that being having the most double-doubles as a teenager in NBA history. The Pistons certainly got a steal with Jalen Duren and the crazy part is that he is only 19 years old. The future is certainly bright for the Detroit Pistons big man.
Jaden Ivey’s Impact
The Detroit Pistons hope that Jaden Ivey can grow into a reliable backcourt mate with Cade Cunningham. His rookie campaign was relatively solid and he seems to have taken a step forward in becoming a more efficient shooter. So far this year, Ivey is averaging 47.5 percent shooting from the field, 12.3 points, and 3.3 assists per game. The shooting guard out of Purdue has also became an elite shooter. This season, he is stroking it at rate of 43.8 percent giving the Detroit Pistons a reliable option from deep. With all of this in mind, it is easy to see why the team exercised these options for this young trio given the promising potential they possess.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
