Every team in the NBA has trades they wish they could take back, including the Detroit Pistons, but the Jaden Ivey deal is not one of them.
It was suggested in a recent article by Bleacher Report that the Pistons botched the Jaden Ivey deal last season, and that it’s a trade that still “haunts” them to this day. Ummm, no.
Halloween pun aside, this is not a trade the Pistons regret, and when you look back at it now, it’s clear that Trajan Langdon actually did a great job to get anything of value.
There wasn’t a better deal for Jaden Ivey
I don’t have insights into every possible deal the Pistons could have sniffed out for Jaden Ivey last season, but there were hardly suitors lining up at the door.
After an injury setback in the preseason, Ivey got off to a slow start and never really looked like himself. Yes, he was a great candidate for a change of scenery or a “second draft,” but at the time, he wasn’t playing well, so the offers weren’t rolling in.
It’s hard for me to believe that Langdon could have done better than a rotation player and a pick swap, as no one was going to give up a first-round pick outright for a guy who never looked fully healthy last season.
In the end, the Pistons were the only team in the deal that got anything, as the Bulls landed Ivey, who they almost immediately cut, and veteran Mike Conley. Ivey is out of the league, and Conley is in Boston.
Minnesota was just dumping Conley’s salary and had to give the Pistons a swap to do it, so Detroit was really the only team that won in the Ivey trade.
The Pistons got a rotation player and a promising rookie
The Pistons retained Kevin Huerter, which was a controversial signing at the time, and still is, as the value of the move is pending.
Huerter hasn’t shot the ball well, but he’s played decent defense and has proven himself to be an important connector on offense. He’s in the Pistons' rotation, which is more than we can say for any of the other players involved in the trade.
The pick swap allowed Detroit to move up even more to draft Ebuka Okorie, who is at least interesting and hopefully a guy who will be in the rotation at some point this season. He’s already a better ball handler than Ivey ever was and is a better fit next to Cade Cunningham, at least on paper. He still has to prove himself, but there is excitement.
So, I have to respectfully disagree with B/R that this is a trade that haunts the Pistons, as they couldn’t have done any better and at least got assets that are helping them this season.
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