The Detroit Pistons made just one move at the trade deadline two weeks ago, trading Jaden Ivey to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Kevin Huerter.
Approaching restricted free agency in the offseason, Ivey was going to be a challenge to retain for the Pistons. Ivey had fallen out of favor after the arrival of Caris LeVert and the emergence of Daniss Jenkins, struggling to find more than 15-20 minutes per game. That forced the front office to move on from him to add a veteran shooter in Huerter.
This move was supposed to help Ivey showcase his skill set and land a lucrative new deal over the summer. It turns out, his disappointing campaign is continuing in Chicago. In fact, things hit a new low on Thursday when the 23-year-old guard was a healthy scratch in his fifth game as a Bull.
Jaden Ivey Was a Healthy Scratch in His 5th Game with Bulls
In the Bulls' loss to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday, Ivey was a DNP-Coach's Decision. Acting head coach Wes Unseld said that the decision not to play Ivey was a "basketball decision," adding that it's really tough to play six guards and wanted to give Josh Giddey and Tre Jones more minutes, per The Athletic's Joel Lorenzi.
Chicago made a series of baffling moves at the deadline, adding Anfernee Simons, Collin Sexton, and Rob Dillingham, as well as Ivey, to a guard rotation that already had Giddey and Jones. When they are all healthy, at least one of those players is going to be the odd man out. Unfortunately for Ivey, in the first game that occurred, it was he who got the short end of the stick.
This has to be a disappointing development for Ivey. In his first four games in Chicago, he played well, averaging 28.8 minutes and putting up 11.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, four assists, and two steals per game. Getting benched in the first game immediately after the All-Star break must be difficult to process.
In fairness to Ivey, this likely says more about the Bulls' incompetence than it does about the former Piston. Trading for a 23-year-old with upside, then burying him behind five other guards when you have to make a free agency decision on him in a few months makes little sense. One has to question what the plan is in Chicago and why they traded for Ivey in the first place.
This certainly complicates Ivey's free agency and his future in Chicago. If he is already out of the rotation after two weeks of joining the team, his chances of re-signing there have to be lower than initially thought. Ivey can't seem to catch a break over the last two seasons, and Pistons fans hope that he finds himself in a better situation sooner rather than later.