Jaden Ivey trade details show grim reality for the Pistons

The Detroit Pistons had to trade former 5th pick Jaden Ivey for peanuts at the trade deadline because there wasn’t anything else out there. 

Fans knew that trading Ivey was a reality coming into the season, and many dreamed of the Pistons using him as a centerpiece of a trade that could land them an impact scorer. 

But an injury immediately set Ivey back, he never looked like himself, and he wasn’t able to help the Pistons much, so they sent him packing. 

Fans have second-guessed the trade from the beginning, but even more so after Kevin Huerter wasn’t playing, which only stirred up more talk that the Pistons could have done better. 

Well, according to one report they tried, but there wasn’t much else out there. 

There was no trade market for Jaden Ivey 

I didn’t want the Pistons to make a splashy trade but did think they could do better than they did, especially when moving Ivey, which was painful, as he showed signs of being the weapon the Pistons need and his setbacks were not his fault. 

According to ESPN reporter Vince Goodwill, the Pistons explored trades with the Kings, but they were already deep into talks with the Cavs for Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis, two guys who could have certainly helped the Pistons. 

The Pistons then pivoted to Chicago, and Goodwill asked the question many Pistons fans have, which is why the Pistons didn’t try to land Coby White or Ayo Dosunmu? 

The answer is that Chicago could get more than Ivey for those guys, and the Pistons weren’t willing to sweeten the pot, so just took Kevin Huerter instead. 

This shows just how far the perception of Ivey had fallen around the league, as prior to his injury, there would have been teams lined up to take a chance on him. By the time the Pistons decided to trade him, that market had evaporated, and they were stuck taking whatever they could get. 

It’s tough to assign blame to anyone here, other than maybe Cole Anthony, as Ivey’s injury was a freak accident and the Pistons had little choice but to give him time to get right, which he never did. 

Detroit held on as long as they could and wanted Ivey to be that guy, but with his restricted free agency and giant cap hold looming, they rightfully decided to cut bait even though the payoff was not what they wanted. 

The Ivey saga put such a dent in the Pistons’ season, as he never developed into the guy they needed and wasn’t a good enough trade asset to land a more impactful player, though I am still holding out hope that Huerter makes a difference at some point this season.