It’s been around 10 months since Jaden Ivey broke his leg last season, but after a grueling rehab, he is back at 100 percent, which is music to Pistons fans’ ears.
That’s according to Trajan Langdon, who had this to say about Jaden Ivey as the Pistons enter training camp:
"There’s no restrictions on him...He’s looking really good, obviously. It will take him some time, he hasn’t played five-on-five NBA basketball in 10 months. By the time he gets going with that I think there’s going to be a rhythm component and even a game conditioning component that he’ll have to get up to speed. We look forward to having him back and he’s going to be a huge part of this team.”
The key words there were “no restrictions,” so Jaden Ivey should be a full participant in practice, training camp and preseason, though Langdon did concede that it may take him some time to get his rhythm.
The injury was particularly gutting for both Ivey and the Pistons, as Ivey only got to play 30 games and didn’t get to enjoy a playoff run with his teammates, while the team didn’t get to see and evaluate one of their key players with the rest of their young core.
I’m sure it was tough for Ivey to sit on the bench while his team made the playoffs without him, and on top of that, he’s had to endure a long offseason of trade rumors, many of which involve him.
All of that should add up to a big chip on Ivey’s shoulder, which is exactly what the Pistons want.
Jaden Ivey is ready to prove his critics wrong
Because Ivey only played 30 games last season, we had to go through another offseason of uncertainty of whether he is a good fit with Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren.
This is probably unfair to Ivey, who played well in the time he did get last year, but wasn’t on the court enough to quell some people’s concerns.
He’s also been the most popular Pistons player to include in trade proposals. I’m not sure how much players pay attention to that type of stuff, but it can’t be easy to constantly see your name in questions and trades.
Ivey will be given every opportunity to prove he’s the second scoring option the Pistons need and put an end to all of the trade rumors. I’m sure he’s ready to do both after a long offseason of chatter and criticism.