Billy Donovan opened up on Friday at practice about the volatile state of Jaden Ivey's playing time.
Billy Donovan returned to the Chicago Bulls on Friday, following a hiatus due to the passing away of his father, Bill Donovan Sr. At Friday's practice, Billy Donovan discussed, among other things, the volatile state of Jaden Ivey's playing time since joining the Bulls at the NBA trade deadline.
Ivey--the 5th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft--came to Chicago in a trade that netted his former team Kevin Huerter and Dario Saric. On paper, this deal allowed the Pistons to continue focusing on winning now while avoiding paying Ivey's next contract, as they clearly has lost some confidence in him as a long term piece; simultaneously, the trade gave Ivey a fresh start with the Bulls where he would theoretically rebuild his confidence and value around the league.
But things are almost never that simple in the NBA.
Since joining the Bulls, Ivey has played a robust 28.8 minutes per game, but didn't receive any playing time in Thursday's loss to the Toronto Raptors, one of the first games that was slated to give us a look at Josh Giddey meshing with all of his new backcourt mates.
That prompted many Bulls fans and critics--present company included--to wonder exactly what the Bulls were thinking with their DNP for Ivey, who should--keyword--be a fairly big part of their plans moving forward. Donovan discussed how he doesn't feel Ivey is playing at the level he is capable of.
Donovan went on to say that Ivey was available to play, and that his DNP against Toronto was strictly a coaches decision that he supported.
Perhaps this was a one game, short-term decision, as Donovan also stated that "it happened to be that game Jaden [Ivey] was out, it could be another game somebody else is out."
"In my opinion, he's not moving like he once did."
It will be interesting to see how the Bulls proceed with Ivey's workload moving forward. Donovan mentioned that Ivey has been dealing with some "knee soreness" that was serious enough for him to miss practice and get checked out, but not serious enough where he couldn't have played on Thursday if needed.
Ivey is a restricted free agent this offseason, meaning the Bulls have the right to match any contract offer he receives. But with his current standing within the Bulls guard hierarchy unclear, it's tough to predict if Chicago will attempt to work out a deal with Ivey early, or let the market dictate his next contract the way they did with Giddey.
At 23 years old, there is still a ton of untapped potential in Ivey, even if he has lost a step due to his injury history. But for Ivey to reach his ceiling, his franchise will have to allow him ample playing time, and be completely invested in helping him find his past form.
The question is: Do the Bulls view Ivey as an intriguing trade piece down the road, or are they fully invested in helping him reach his ceiling?