The Detroit Pistons traded Jaden Ivey to division rival Chicago Bulls for Kevin Huerter, Dario Saric and a pick swap with Minnesota in the 2026 NBA Draft.
It’s always tough to trade a player you drafted, especially to a team in your division and even more so when that player has shown the kind of potential that Jaden Ivey has.
There is always the risk that Ivey will figure it out with the Bulls and make the Pistons pay for trading him, and Detroit will be stuck playing him four times a year if that happens.
But the Pistons clearly didn’t want to pay him as a restricted free agent, nor have his $30 million cap hold hanging over them, so they cashed in for what they could get, which is a plug and play shooter and slightly better draft position.
Given his contract situation, trading Ivey was a risk worth taking and now puts that burden on the Bulls, who have a recent track record of botching these situations.
The Bulls have to pay Jaden Ivey, a problem the Pistons didn't want
I do think this was a smart move for the Bulls, as they didn’t give up anything that was going to help them this season and get to take a flyer on a high-upside player in Ivey. If he doesn’t work out this season, they are under no obligation to pay him and it’s possible they’ll get a good deal even if they do.
Ivey is likely to get more minutes with the Bulls, especially early on with Josh Giddey out with an injury, but he’ll face some of the same challenges he had on the Pistons when Giddey returns.
Giddey, like Cade Cunningham, is a ball dominant point guard who runs the show, so Ivey will be playing off ball again. He’s not a good secondary creator or volume 3-point shooter (yet), so will be up against the same questions of how he fits.
The worst thing for the Bulls might be if Ivey plays well in these last games, as they could end up giving him the same kind of disastrous contract they gave Patrick Williams, which was five years for $90 million with an inexplicable player option at the end of it.
Regardless of how Ivey plays, they’d be making that decision with scant evidence of how he fits and whether he’s worth the investment, banking on potential like they did with Williams.
The Pistons rightfully looked at this contract mess and said it wasn’t worth the trouble, as they can have Daniss Jenkins at a fraction of the cost and risk to their future cap space.
The Bulls may find a comfortable middle ground or agree to a short-term deal to mitigate the risk, and I do hope it works out for Ivey, but it’s a headache the Pistons didn’t want.