NBA Notes: Pistons, Cade Cunningham, Wizards, AJ Dybantsa, Lakers

Cade Cunningham seems perfectly fine with the Pistons being overlooked.

Detroit is coming off a 60-win season and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, yet much of the summer attention has gone to the champion Knicks, the revamped Sixers and other teams that made splashier moves.

Cunningham told DJ Siddiqi of R.org that he sees that as motivation.

“I think we got a lot of noise to make,” Cunningham said. “And especially people doubting us, like I said, it just adds more fuel to everything.”

He also sounded encouraged by Detroit’s offseason additions, including John Collins, Isaiah Joe and Taurean Prince.

“They’re all high-IQ players, guys that can shoot the ball,” Cunningham said. “All that stuff is needed for us.”

The Pistons didn’t make the kind of headline-grabbing move some of their Eastern Conference rivals did.

They also didn’t exactly need to tear apart a 60-win team. Cunningham appears more interested in proving last season wasn’t a fluke.

Wizards

AJ Dybantsa won’t necessarily have to carry the Wizards the way he carried BYU.

Henry Brown of Wizards On SI argues that might actually help the No. 1 overall pick become a more complete player.

Dybantsa dominated the ball in college, leading the Big 12 in scoring at 25.5 points per game while posting a massive usage rate.

Washington will be different.

Trae Young figures to handle most of the primary creation duties, while Anthony Davis, Alex Sarr and others will also command touches. That means Dybantsa may spend more time working as a secondary scorer, cutter and play-finisher.

Brown believes that could give the rookie an opportunity to show more of his versatility.

The Wizards also challenged Dybantsa during the pre-draft process to become more disruptive defensively.

“They said they can challenge me on the defensive end, becoming more of a pest, guarding 94 feet,” Dybantsa told Wizards On SI.

The scoring talent is obvious. The interesting part may be seeing what else Washington can pull out of him.

Lakers

Lakers fans already have two dates worth circling.

Los Angeles will open its season Oct. 21 at home against Stephen Curry and the Warriors, one day after the NBA officially tips off the 2026-27 campaign.

Then comes the obvious one: LeBron James will return to Los Angeles with the 76ers on Christmas Day.

Ryan Ward of Lakers On SI points to both games as early highlights of the post-LeBron era in L.A., now built around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

The Christmas matchup should carry considerably more emotion.

James spent nearly a decade with the Lakers, helped deliver a championship and then left for Philadelphia this summer.

Now he’ll be back at Crypto.com Arena wearing a Sixers uniform.

The full NBA schedule is set to be released Aug. 13, but the league didn’t exactly hide two of the Lakers’ biggest games. Curry first. LeBron on Christmas. That should get everyone’s attention.