It's make or break for these 4 Pistons next season

Jaden Ivey 

What he needs to do: 

-Be more efficient 

-Improve defensively 

-Make better decisions 

-Be a backup point guard 

It’s possible that Jaden Ivey will once again start the season coming off the bench if JJ Bickerstaff prioritizes shooting in the starting lineup around Cade Cunningham. 

Ivey has to show that he can be that guy, which means hitting a higher percentage of his 3-point shots. 

But he also needs to be more efficient everywhere else, as he only shot 42 percent from the floor last season. Bickerstaff has talked about getting Ivey the ball in motion more, so he doesn’t have to become Reggie Miller to be a fit with Cunningham, he just needs to have at least one efficient weapon in his bag. 

He also can’t be a sieve on defense, an area where he showed some improvement last season but still has a long way to go. For a guy as quick as he is, Ivey plays too upright on defense and often gets caught flat-footed watching the play. 

The porous perimeter defense put a lot of pressure on the bigs last season, as teams got into the lane with ease. With Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland, two plus defenders, Ivey isn’t going to play unless he can at least hold his own on defense. 

He’ll also need to show he can play backup point guard and thrive in that role, as it might be the only one available to him. Even if he starts, coach Bickerstaff has already talked about staggering Cunningham and Ivey, so both will need to play lead guard, cut out the stupid turnovers and make better decisions. 

Having a more competent team around them will help, but the writing is on the wall for Ivey, he either improves or he is the Pistons’ best trade asset. 

That won’t be true forever, so I expect Ivey to have the shortest leash, as the Pistons can’t wait too long to trade him if they are going to, as young players go from “high upside” to “bust” very quickly.