When the Detroit Pistons drafted Jaden Ivey with the 5th pick in 2022, they hoped they were getting a part of their future core.
Ivey didn’t disappoint, as he had a solid rookie season and flashed star power on the offensive end. He had glaring flaws on defense and turned the ball over too much but most would agree Ivey showed enough to be part of the long-term plans.
We all penciled him into the starting lineup for the season without giving it a second thought, but new head coach Monty Williams had other ideas, as he brought Ivey off the bench in all but one preseason game.
But it wasn’t just his role that was concerning, Ivey’s performance also raised some uncomfortable questions. You can’t make too much of the preseason, and it’s possible all of these questions will look silly in hindsight, but I’d be lying if I said I was completely confident in Ivey’s future with the Detroit Pistons.
Uncomfortable questions about Jaden Ivey
Is Jaden Ivey a starter?
Again, I don’t want to make too much of preseason, but if you didn’t know any better, you might think Killian Hayes was in the driver’s seat for minutes and Jaden Ivey was the one battling for a spot in the rotation.
Monty Williams has repeatedly said that defense is going to play in his rotation and made a reference to “blow by guys” having a hard time getting minutes. My thoughts immediately went to Jaden Ivey after that comment, as his defense was atrocious last season.
He was allowed to play through it as the Pistons tanked away, but if Detroit really wants to turn this around, it has to start on the defensive end and Killian Hayes may have the upper hand. With both Bojan Bogdanovic and Monte Morris out to start the season, it will be interesting to see if it is Ivey or Hayes that ends up in the starting lineup.
Ivey did not look comfortable in the preseason, took some bad shots, and turned the ball over a lot, averaging 3.3 per game. With Killian Hayes looking more comfortable on and off the ball and playing better defense, it’s very possible he is going to begin the season in the starting five.
It’s also possible that Williams was just trying to use the preseason to motivate Ivey on the defensive end, but should a top-5 pick even need that? Ivey may very well be in the starting five all season, in which case this will all be a forgotten blip.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with being a 6th man and it’s a role that could suit Ivey, but it would be somewhat disappointing to see a top-5 pick unable to crack the starting five of a team coming off 17 wins because his defense is not good enough.
Uncomfortable questions about Jaden Ivey
Are we sure Jaden Ivey and Cade Cunningham are a good fit?
We didn’t get to see much of Cade and Ivey last season because of Cunningham’s injury, so it’s a duo we were hoping would take off in the preseason of year two.
But that didn’t happen, in fact, Ausar Thompson looked like a much better fit with Cade, especially defensively, where their size was really presenting problems for the opposition.
I’d say Thompson looked far more comfortable on both ends even though he didn’t shoot the ball particularly well. He made the right play, didn’t turn the ball over as much and was more effective getting to the rim than Ivey.
Ivey only shot 44 percent overall (better than Ausar’s 35 percent) and 26 percent from long range. He just looked uncomfortable in the offense, but again, that could be the product of a new role and adjusting to new teammates.
I’m almost ready to declare Ausar Thompson as the Pistons’ second-best player even though he’s never played a regular season game, which may be unfair, but he passed the eye test in preseason and Ivey really didn’t.
Again, you don’t want to make too much of preseason, but Thompson, not Ivey, looks like Detroit’s second building block, which brings me to another uncomfortable question.
Uncomfortable questions about Jaden Ivey
Is Jaden Ivey now expendable in a trade?
First off, we have to see a whole lot more of Killian Hayes playing the way he did in preseason to put him ahead of Ivey on the depth chart or as a future member of the Detroit Pistons.
But if Hayes continues to make shots and defend at a high level, there is a world in which Jaden Ivey is now the odd man out.
It’s not as if the Pistons will be shopping Ivey, as they would be giving up on a young player with star potential, but if the right trade presents itself, Ivey could become Detroit’s top trade asset.
This is more about Detroit’s lack of assets than a knock on Ivey, as they don’t have a war chest filled with future draft picks to tempt any team looking to trade a star.
But if a team like the Toronto Raptors were to explore trades for one of their forwards or the Minnesota Timberwolves wanted to do a swap for Jaden McDaniels, Ivey might now be the most likely of the Pistons’ young talents to be moved.
He would be interesting for any team looking to rebuild that needs a guard, so teams like the Bulls and Raptors could come calling if they decide to blow things up.
Coming into this offseason, the idea of trading Ivey was not realistic, but now I am not so sure, and to be honest, it might be the best way for the Pistons to balance their roster.
Uncomfortable questions about Jaden Ivey
Are we sure Jaden Ivey is better than Marcus Sasser?
Oof.
This is definitely some small sample-size preseason nonsense here, but if you only watched the preseason and didn’t know anything else, you might think rookie Marcus Sasser was better than Jaden Ivey.
Sasser scored about the same number of points per game in fewer minutes. He shot slightly worse from the field, but Sasser hit 40 percent of his 3-point shots, which is more important to the Pistons’ offense.
Sasser got to the free-throw line more and hit 83 percent of them while Ivey hit 50 percent of his. Sasser had more assists and fewer turnovers in preseason and in general just played with more poise, especially considering he’s a rookie getting his first look at NBA competition.
Sasser is a bit of a chucker on offense and needs to have better shot selection, but he can fill it up in a hurry and is already a much better on-the-ball defender than Ivey.
Of course, Sasser was doing this mostly against bench competition and future G-League players in preseason games, but he was impressive.
These questions could look really stupid in a few weeks when Jaden Ivey establishes himself as a starter and we forget about preseason contributions from Killian Hayes and Marcus Sasser. But there is also a world in which Ivey’s lack of defense limits his minutes while these guys step up.
They are uncomfortable questions to ask about a second-year guard who was a top-5 pick, so hopefully Ivey will answer them in resounding fashion so they don’t linger into the season.