Detroit — Pistons general manager Troy Weaver and coach Dwane Casey addressed Cade Cunningham’s left shin injury, which will require season-ending surgery, after Tuesday’s practice.
Cunningham, who has missed the last 17 games since Nov. 9, was deliberating between rest and rehabilitation or surgery for the past month. Weaver also confirmed that the cause of the shin soreness is indeed a stress fracture, which has affected him off and on since the preseason.
“Obviously, we want to make sure a player’s health is most important and we want to get him healthy so he can continue to be the player that he is and the organization wants him to be,” Weaver said. “Having this procedure right now helps him get back to where he needs to be, so this summer he can not only recover, but continue to get better, work on his game and be ready for next season.”
Weaver said Cunningham will have the surgery sometime this week and the team doesn’t have an exact timetable, but estimates that it’ll likely take three to four months to recover from the procedure.
Cunningham spent the past month resting, in hopes that the inflammation that the injury would subside. Weaver said the team spoke to Cunningham about his long-term health, and both parties agreed that the procedure would be best for his long-term health.
“I told him if he was my son, I’d advise him to do it,” Casey said. “It’s his and his family’s decision to make sure he gets taken care of. I feel for him because you can just imagine the hopes and dreams he had of coming into this year and then this happens.
“It’s human nature, and that’s what caused some of the indecision, but he and his agent and his family, along with our staff did a thorough job of making sure he made the right decision.”
Despite the sudden halt to his sophomore season, Cunningham played 12 games and appeared to show significant growth this year, with averages of 19.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists.
“No player wants to sit out,” Weaver said. “He’s a highly-competitive young player and he wants to play and he wants to be a part of the group. Of course, this is a tough deal for him to have to sit down and get this taken care of.”
When asked what Cunningham’s injury does for the timeline for the Pistons’ restoration process, Weaver stood firm in saying nothing changes for Detroit’s original goal of competing on a nightly basis.
“Injuries are a part of it, but it doesn’t change anything,” Weaver said. “It changes for Cade, but not for what we are trying to accomplish. We’re trying to continue to grow the program and compete every night. We’ve been doing that and Cade hasn’t played in (17) games or so. We’ve been (competing) and we expect to continue to do that. It’s just unfortunate for him — a young man that brings a lot to the table. We’re still going full blast ahead.”
Livers won’t make Charlotte trip
Isaiah Livers will remain in Detroit during the Pistons’ brief one-game road trip for Wednesday’s game against Charlotte, according to Casey.
Livers has missed the last five games due to a shoulder sprain he suffered against the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 1.
“He’s going to stay back and continue to rehab,” Casey said. “He’s still not 100% and the shoulder needs to continue to get strengthened because you don’t want a setback if he does hit a screen before it’s ready.”
mcurtis@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @MikeACurtis2