Jaden Ivey is entering a pivotal season with the Detroit Pistons. His third year in the league ended much earlier than anyone wanted it to, as he broke his left fibula on New Year's Day, missing the rest of the season. He's now healthy and ready to go with training camp and the start of the 2025-26 season around the corner.
Ivey wants a chance to prove himself, especially with the likelihood that he could start the season without an extension, meaning he could enter restricted free agency next summer. The good news is that he'll get it, as he'll reclaim the starting shooting guard role.
Detroit did Ivey a favor last offseason by parting ways with Monty Williams, who crushed Ivey's confidence in his second season. The Pistons fired Williams after the 2023-24 season and replaced him with J.B. Bickerstaff, who quickly proved to be a far better fit for Ivey and a young Pistons squad.
The 23-year-old averaged 17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game last season for the Pistons, shooting 46% from the field and 40.9% from three. The sample size was small (30 games), but his progression as a shooter, particularly from three, was a notable improvement. There is never an ideal time to be injured, but Ivey's injury was quite a tough blow, given the trajectory he was on.
Jaden Ivey is preparing for a pivotal season with the Pistons
Ivey missed Detroit's run to the playoffs last year, where the Pistons took the Knicks to a six-game series, but he'll (hopefully) have a chance to be part of another postseason berth next season. If last season's small sample size was a sign of what's to come for Ivey, Detroit will be even scarier for pre-crowned top teams in the East, Cleveland and New York.
It might take Ivey some time to get up to speed after missing most of last season, but he's looked good in offseason videos.
Suppose the upward trend of Ivey's three-point shooting continues and he can take care of the ball, improving as a playmaker and on the defensive end (a challenge Trajan Langdon gave Cade Cunningham last season). If that happens, the Pistons shouldn't have to think twice about locking Ivey down as a member of their young core.
While trying not to put too many expectations on Ivey's fourth season in the league, given his return from a major injury, it helps that the Pistons have put him in a position to succeed.