OKC Thunder: Prospect Cade Cunningham’s biggest weakness revealed

Seemingly since the end of last season, the mindset for the OKC Thunder has been focusing on the future of the franchise.

While they may be surprising people thus far into the 2020-21 season, as they boast a record of 8-10 and are constantly finding themselves in and out of the playoff picture, ultimately they are still a rebuilding franchise.

Ahead of the majority of other franchises that find themselves embarking on a similar path, as they already have a franchise player in place in third-year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (who could be vying for his first All-Star appearance this year), Oklahoma City still is in search for that highly coveted second star that the majority of contending teams have.

While we here at TI have suggested a few players in the past that Sam Presti could look into dealing for to fill such a role alongside SGA, there are many who believe using their draft assets is the best way to go about finding a second stud, and the most popular prospect for OKC Thunder fans is Oklahoma State point guard, Cade Cunningham.

A tall and high-IQ combo guard, the 19-year-old is posting impressive averages of 18 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and a block per game on 46 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent shooting from deep.

OKC Thunder draft prospect Cade Cunningham isn’t entirely flawless

Possessing few flaws in his game, fans and analysts alike are all confident that, by draft night, Cunningham will be one of the top talents to be taken off the board.

However, while his weaknesses appear to be rather limited, B/R writer Jonathan Wasserman sees spot-up play as an area that could certainly use for some fine-tuning:

"Cunningham ranks in the 15th percentile as a spot-up player, shooting 5-of-20 on those catch-and-shoot chances and 0-of-6 when he’s run off the line and forced into a quick pull-up or runner. And through 12 games, he’s converted two cuts and one shot off a screen.Whichever team drafts Cunningham should be prepared to let the offense run through the 6’8″, 220-pound point guard, even though his size, scoring and defense suggest he could log minutes at positions 2-4. Having him stand around the wings and corner means playing him away from his strengths.Still, he’d benefit from improving as a shooter off the catch (29.4 percent)."

Now, this breakdown of the guard’s game is a bit problematic if you’re an OKC Thunder fan who believes Cunningham is the ideal fit in the lineup with Gilgeous-Alexander.

Though SGA proved to be tremendous off the ball throughout his first season in OKC, as Chris Paul served as the primary handler, 2020-21 is proving that the 22-year-old is more effective and menacing with the rock in his possession, be it creating for himself in isolation or setting up his teammates.

With this in mind, why would it be seen as a good idea to bring on someone who needs to take away isolation touches from the Thunder’s franchise player in order to be best utilized?

At such a young age, Cunningham still has time to develop his overall game and, in this case, his spot-up play.

That said, as of this moment, his sub-30 percent catch-and-shoot conversion rate is a tad bit concerning.