NBA Exec: 'I Feel Bad for Cade Cunningham' After Pistons Draft Ron Holland II

The Detroit Pistons have been trudging through a rebuild for the past few years, and at least one league executive believes their selection of swingman Ron Holland II with the No. 5 pick in this year's NBA draft was a backward step.

Per ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, there are some questions about how Holland fits on a roster that sorely lacks perimeter shooting. The exec said the addition of Holland won't do much to benefit rising star point guard Cade Cunningham, whom Detroit selected with the No. 1 pick in 2021.

"I feel bad for Cade Cunningham," the exec explained. "They've been rebuilding for years even though they never planned on it, and this pick signals they might need to blow up the roster and start over again. I just don't see how [Holland] plays with Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey and all their other young guys. That situation is a mess. Even when Holland was scoring in Vegas, it was so ugly to watch."

Holland bypassed college to play for G League Ignite last season. He appeared in 14 games before undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in his right thumb and averaged 20.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. However, his efficiency left much to be desired, as he shot 44.3 percent from the field and an abysmal 24.0 percent from beyond the arc.

In a poll conducted by Givony and Woo on who was the biggest reach of this year's draft, Holland was tied for the most votes (four) with AJ Johnson of the Milwaukee Bucks. However, Johnson was selected with the 23rd pick, while the Pistons appear to have taken a big swing when they should have landed a sure thing with the fifth pick.

It appears that the 2024-25 campaign could be another lost season for Detroit, which hasn't made the playoffs since 2018-19.