Are the Detroit Pistons about to trade Jaden Ivey?

Short team deals and competition for Jaden Ivey 

One of my biggest problems with how the Pistons have “rebuilt” is that they just threw all of these young players into the fire together without much competition, never making them earn minutes or penalizing them for making the same mistakes again and again. 

I’ve seen some fans bemoaning that these vets are going to “take away minutes” from the young players or “stunt their development.” Nonsense. 

Minutes are supposed to be earned in professional sports, not given to a guy just because he was a high draft pick.  

Also, playing with competent veterans instead of all developing young players will be great for these guys. They need older players to call them out, to coach them up on the floor and to make their lives easier. 

Ivey’s development isn’t going to be hurt by this, it will be helped, and if it’s not, he’s not that guy. 

Competition is a good thing. Jaden Ivey is going to have to earn it and if he does, great, he’ll be in the starting five. If not, he’ll go to the bench, which may not be the worst thing in the world. 

And all of these players are on short-term deals that line up with his, so he’ll likely have the next two seasons to prove himself and to grow as a player without the pressure of having the future of a franchise on his shoulders. 

Ivey will be given plenty of chances to prove himself and if he improves this season, he’ll be the guy with all of these vets on expiring deals and the Pistons looking to add another high-impact star or two. 

The competition is great, the timeline works out and Ivey finally has some players to learn from. And he could have a new role.