Cade Cunningham Urged to Recruit East Superstar to Pistons by NBA Champion originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Detroit Pistons enter the NBA offseason with some key decisions to make as they try to upgrade their roster and build off their incredible season.

Detroit was able to turn their franchise this season after they finished sixth in the Eastern Conference and made the playoffs for the first time in six seasons.

Of course, this came after the Pistons finished with the worst record in the NBA in each of the prior two seasons.

One of the key reasons for Detroit’s success was the breakout season for their star point guard Cade Cunningham and they now enter the summer looking to upgrade their roster around him and the rest of their young core.

Detroit has enough cap space and tradeable assets to make a major move this offseason and a former NBA champion recently urged Cunningham to recruit a superstar from the East.

Former Boston Celtics champion and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins recently appeared on the Road Trippin podcast where he urged Cunningham to recruit Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason.

“Giannis and Cade in Detroit. Come on now we talking about moving the needle,” Perkins said. “That puts them right in the championship conversation…Cade got to take that leap. Sometimes you got to put your pride aside. If you don't already have Giannis' number, need to go out there and search.”

Kendrick Perkins Wants Cade To Get Giannis On The Phone 🔵🔴
-Via @RoadTrippinPod#DetroitBasketballpic.twitter.com/5HAYlX0alx

— Downtown Deuce (@DowntownDeuce) June 16, 2025

Perkins makes a great point about Giannis’ addition making the Pistons into a legit title contender, especially with how open the East is entering next season.

Of course, Giannis has been in trade rumors since the Bucks were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs and while those rumors have cooled down, he could still be on the move if Milwaukee receives a large enough package.

The good news for Detroit is that they could entice the Bucks with draft capital and parts of their young core to pull off a trade for Giannis to pair him alongside Cunningham and compete for a title next season.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 19, 2025, where it first appeared.

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