Tinkering with his jumper before his rookie season did former No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz no favors. The Detroit Pistons are hoping for more success with their No. 1 overall pick however.
Pistons head coach Dwane Casey told reporters on Friday that adviser John Beilein has been working with rookie Cade Cunningham on getting a higher release on his three-point shot, per Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Casey added that the issue is not a big one and that the team does not want to break down Cunningham’s shot mechanics this close to the season.
The decision is a curious one as the 19-year-old Cunningham was already an excellent shooter in college (40.0 percent from three and 84.6 percent from the line). Cunningham is also 6-foot-7, which means that he should be able to get off his jumper over opposing point guards as is.
As Casey hinted at, tinkering with a young player’s shooting mechanics can be playing with fire as we infamously saw in the case of Fultz. Pistons fans will be hoping that the team is not trying to do anything drastic with Cunningham’s jumper.
