The Detroit Pistons hoped Jaden Ivey would evolve into the second star the team needed this season, but instead, they had to trade him away for a guy who barely plays and a pick swap that would currently move the Pistons up three spots in the 2026 Draft.
Coming into the season, fans hoped for one of two outcomes with Ivey, either he becomes the secondary scoring option the team still lacks, or the Pistons use him as the centerpiece of a trade that would land them that player.
But Ivey’s early injury presented a third option, which is that Ivey doesn’t look right and never plays well enough to help the Pistons or to be a trade asset.
If you had told fans before the season that the Pistons would trade Ivey just to move from the 28th pick to the 25th, they rightfully would have been disappointed.
To the Pistons’ credit, they gave Ivey as much time as they could before having to pull the trigger, but they didn’t want this same uncertainty hanging over another offseason, especially with Ivey headed into restricted free agency.
I also can’t blame Ivey, who was playing great before a freak injury knocked him out of last season after just 30 games, and another setback kept him from ever getting going in this one.
There isn’t any blame to assign, but the Ivey problem is lingering.
The Detroit Pistons have the same questions
If you asked who the Pistons’ second scorer was, you’d get a different answer every night, as they don’t have anyone who is doing it consistently.
Jalen Duren has been great for most of the season, but his offense is largely the product of Cade Cunningham, and he’s not a guy who can regularly get his own shot. Tobias Harris has been up and down, as has Duncan Robinson, so the Pistons are left with the same question lingering over them for yet another season.
They hoped Jaden Ivey would be the answer, at least in the short term, and when that didn’t work out, there really wasn’t a Plan B, as Langdon chose not to address the issue in any meaningful way at the trade deadline.
The Pistons are in first place and have had a dream season, even without contributions from Ivey, but there is an Ivey-shaped hole where that scorer should be, and that hasn't changed.
The circumstances of this mess were largely out of anyone’s control, but it’s hard not to wonder how things might have gone if Cole Anthony hadn’t plowed into Jaden Ivey’s legs.
It may not go down as one of the great “what-ifs” in Pistons’ history, but the Ivey situation definitely cast a shadow over this season that hasn’t been lifted and won’t ‘be until the Pistons get Cade Cunningham a proper running mate in the backcourt.