OKC Thunder: NBA draft prospect profile – Cade Cunningham

Cade Cunningham strengths and weaknesses

Strengths:

There is a very good reason Cade Cunningham began the season ranked first and remained in that position throughout the NCAA season. Put simply he’s about the most complete player to come out of the draft in quite some time.

Consider how franchises drooled over Ben Simmons and Luka Doncic based on their size and playmaking ability. Cunningham has the same ability with some noted differences.

Unlike Simmons, he is an adept scorer with range who shot 40 percent from the perimeter. He enters the NBA as a far better defender than Doncic was coming to the pros but unlikely to be as dominant offensively.

That’s not to say Cunningham isn’t capable of being the primary offensive weapon on a team. Rather, his game is better suited to capitalizing on his overall skillset. When players move from star status into superstar territory the primary caveat is when the player is making everyone around them better.

That’s why Cunningham is so appealing because he already possesses all the skills to accomplish that feat. In fact, it’s conceivable he’ll witness greater assists totals in the pros given his ability to read the game and high-end mastery of playmaking.

Likewise, he demonstrated scoring prowess from all areas of the floor with no discernible weaknesses in shot types. He carried the offense in Oklahoma State dictating the pace of the game and perhaps most impressively didn’t shy away from taking over in clutch time.

Weaknesses:

Certainly, there are areas for Cunningham to improve but quite frankly it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. For example, his four turnovers per game are far from ideal. However, consider the team he played with and that partially answers why that number is so high.

All the defensive opponent pressure was on him so many of his turnovers occurred based on him trying to force a pass or getting double/triple teamed.

I’d consider him a more cerebral than athletic player which could pose some issues when he functions in the paint against pros with athleticism and size.

Like virtually every rookie, he’ll need to improve defensively and that lack of foot speed could pose some issues when he faces speedy guards although his size and I.Q. could offset the negatives.