Billy Donovan Responds to Jaden Ivey's Claims About His Knee-Injury Evaluation

The Jaden Ivey drama adds another controversial layer, this time shifting the spotlight to his season-ending injury evaluation.

On Tuesday night, Ivey appeared on the PinPoint Podcast, hosted by Kerrigan Skelly, a self-described evangelist with nearly 100,000 YouTube subscribers. While discussing his knee injury — which led the Bulls to end his season after their March 25 game in Philadelphia — Ivey offered a surprising explanation, claiming he was healthy enough to play.

"I said, 'I'm ready. Jesus healed my knee,’" Ivey said during the podcast. He referred his words to the team he was ready to play against the 76ers. However, he underwent an MRI the following day and was officially ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Ivey was waived on Monday, a few hours after viral comments about the NBA's advocacy for the LGBTQ community on his Instagram livestream. According to the Bulls' press release, the team deemed his actions "conduct detrimental to the team," and he denied the charge and defended his comments.

When asked on Wednesday, before the Bulls lost to Indiana, about the decision to shut Ivey’s season down, Billy Donovan said the team's medical staff prioritized the player's health above all else.

"All I would say is that, from a medical standpoint, (Ivey) not being available was (what) we thought was the best thing for his health," Donovan said. He referenced Josh Giddey's own desire to play despite sitting out Wednesday's game with left hamstring tightness.

"I respect Jaden, (who) wants to play, and the desire to play, and the drive to play. But sometimes, I think the doctors sometimes have to save the players from themselves...any decision that was made was made in the best interest of Jaden's health," Donovan said.

Regarding Ivey's arrival at the trade deadline, Donovan acknowledged that the compressed schedule made it difficult for him to be involved in conversations. He noted that Ivey, Guerschon Yabusele and Anfernee Simons all joined the team's shootaround in Toronto and played their first game as Bulls with minimal preparation time. Donovan said he wasn't "blindsided" by Ivey's arrival or other trade details.

"I don't have all the intel on what was said prior to (Ivey's) arrival. All I was trying to do at that point was 'how do I get this guy acclimated to our team?'" Donovan said.

During the podcast with Skelly, Ivey also revealed he had contemplated suicide "multiple times" while discussing family issues and his injury evaluation with the Bulls. In an earlier Tuesday livestream, he said his wife, Caitlyn, hadn't texted him, claiming family members "betrayed" him following his anti-Pride comments. However, Caitlyn responded via her Instagram stories on Wednesday, clarifying that they had been communicating throughout the situation and she had "never abandoned" him.

Giddey, speaking after Monday's game against San Antonio, called the entire situation "unfortunate."

"I hope he gets the help he needs, whatever he's going through or not going through," Giddey told the Chicago Sun-Times.