Jaden Ivey was having a breakout season for the Detroit Pistons until a fluke play ended in a broken leg that has him sidelined indefinitely.
It was bad luck for Ivey, who is extension-eligible this summer and was looking like a guy that the Pistons may sign for the long term. He still may be, as Ivey was playing well, showing the efficiency he needs to be Cade Cunningham’s sidekick while making some modest improvements on defense, though he still needs plenty of work there.
Ivey has done everything right this season, but the circumstances around him are rapidly changing and may force the Pistons to make some tough decisions.
Jaden Ivey’s injury: How long will Ivey really be out?
The Pistons have set a timeline of four weeks for reevaluation of Ivey’s injury after he had surgery on his broken leg.
That certainly doesn’t mean he’ll be returning in four weeks, but they will have a much better understanding of where he is a month after his successful surgery.
That timeline leaves the door open for Ivey to return this season, especially if the Pistons make it to the postseason. It also happens to align with the trade deadline, which may not be a coincidence.
But there are other doctors out there who think it will be much longer, as many as 4-6 months, not weeks, so we can’t do anything but wait and see how fast Ivey recovers from what looked like a devastating injury.
There is a chance Ivey will return this season, but there is also a chance he won’t, which means he’d be going into his extension summer on the injury list with a big question hanging over him.
The Detroit Pistons without Jaden Ivey
The Pistons are 6-3 this season without Ivey, but that record can be misleading if you’ve watched the games.
Detroit beat Miami, Minnesota, Charlotte, Portland, Brooklyn and Toronto without Ivey, hardly a murderer’s row of teams.
The offense has struggled at times without him, usually when Cade Cunningham leaves the game, and there has been extra pressure on Cade on the offensive end to do pretty much everything, which is not ideal.
It’s clear the Pistons need a secondary scorer who can consistently get 18-20 points per game, even though their veterans have stepped up and provided that with a different guy just about every night.
It’s too soon to tell what the Pistons really look like without Ivey, but as Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland II continue to emerge, it’s possible they may not need him, or could possibly upgrade with a trade.
Detroit Pistons: The big trade
There is some buzz that the Pistons will be buyers at the deadline, though it would be surprising to see them make the kind of all-in move that would require Jaden Ivey, especially when he is currently injured.
But that could change this summer if the Pistons want to make a big move, as Ivey would potentially be their best trade chip.
Again, how his injury will affect that perception largely depends on what we hear in a month.
If Ivey is ahead of schedule, this could be a moot point, but if he ends up missing the season, we may not see him in a Pistons’ uniform again. That’s not a wish, but just the harsh reality of a business where things can change very quickly.