J.B. Bickerstaff fires back at comments about Cade Cunningham needing to leave Pistons
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Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff continues to make a strong impression in his first season with the franchise.
A viral clip circulated on the Players Choice Podcast in which former Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas reviewed point guard Cade Cunningham’s performance against the New York Knicks. Arenas described Cunningham’s game as a “big city game” that needed better attention outside of Detroit with the Pistons. Bickerstaff stood up for his team in disagreement with the comment during the pregame media session before tipoff against the Indiana Pacers.
“I would just disagree. Kevin Durant was pretty good in Oklahoma City, Tim Duncan was pretty good in San Antonio. This day in age, the basketball travels,” Bickerstaff stated. “There was a time where you needed to be in New York or LA or Boston to be marketable… but Detroit’s won championships with a certain style of play.”
Cunningham’s breakout season has been one of the brightest spotlights of the 2024-25 NBA season. The 6’7 point guard is averaging career-high numbers across the board, which has led to a massive leap for the Pistons. After finishing 14-68 last season, Detroit is one of the biggest surprise stories in the league, with a 21-19 record placing them in the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.
Bickerstaff continued his response on how players have created successful careers outside of big markets. He even cited Pistons of the past who were able to make a big name for themselves.
“You’d be hard pressed to tell me that Chauncey Billups, Joe Dumars, Isiah Thomas, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton….I could go on and on about those guys not needing to be somewhere else to get the job done,” Bickerstaff explained. “I don’t agree with it and I think there’s a lot of facts behind it.”
Cunningham ranks seventh in All-Star voting
The push for the Pistons’ franchise player as an All-Star continues to gain attention. Cunningham is currently seventh among Eastern Conference guards in the latest vote count for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game.
He has received 582,617 votes from fans, NBA media, and players since the voting started. Cunningham is sitting behind LaMelo Ball (1,908,967), Donovan Mitchell (1,554,204, Damian Lillard (1,270,187), Jalen Brunson (1,243,385), Trae Young (705,936), and Tyrese Maxey (611,869). The fan vote ends on NBA.com next Monday at 11:59 P.M. EST. Bickerstaff made one final case for why Cunningham deserves more consideration.
"You have to paint a total picture of who Cade is. I think a lot of times when you see guys have great seasons, they do a really good job of having an individually great season. If you look at this team, Cade is having a great season, but he's also uplifting others around him to have a great season,” Bickerstaff said. “He didn't have to take from anybody else, and more so, he poured into everybody else. So not only having his own number and having career years, but helping to aid other players and getting better individually and being the glue that's helped a team get better.”
“The numbers speak for themselves. His ability to be a two-way player; we put him on other teams' best perimeter players. We ask him to carry that burden. He impacts the game in a defensive way, rebounds the basketball, assists and scores and then is a hell of a human being. If you want to personify someone and this league wants to highlight those types of people, Cade fits the bill."
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