The Detroit Pistons originally selected Jaden Ivey 5th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft
To say that the 2025-26 campaign has not gone the way that Jaden Ivey had intended it to would be a gross understatement.
First, the fourth-year guard underwent arthroscopic knee surgery which delayed the start of his season with the Detroit Pistons back in October. Shortly after that, Ivey worked his way back into the Pistons’ lineup, but he never regained the burst and confidence that he showed the season before. So, Detroit opted to trade Ivey to the Chicago Bulls at the deadline in exchange for Kevin Huerter and a first-round pick swap with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Since joining the Windy City squad, Ivey received the first DNP of his career, then he spoke about knee pain and how he wasn’t physically right in a post-game press conference as the explanation for his DNP. Bulls head coach Billy Donovan told the media that Ivey was healthy, but that was just a footnote in the peculiar relationship between JI and the Chicago organization that led to the team waiving him within the last hour.
After the communication mixup between Ivey and the team, the former Piston actually did end up on the injury report with soreness in his left knee, and the Bulls ruled Ivey out for multiple weeks so that his ailment could heal up. Then just four days ago, the Bulls shut down Ivey for the rest of the season.
However, that was just the beginning of a strange stretch from the once-explosive combo guard. Over the last two days, Ivey has gone on Instagram Live for extended periods of time where he’s engaged in extensive religious discussions with his followers. Many of these interactions turned argumentative, and in one sequence the former Detroit player said “the Pistons not gon’ matter on judgment day” after a Motown fan expressed positive wishes toward JI.
Most recently, Ivey shared a few opinions about the NBA’s Pride Month and ultimately focused on the event as an “unrighteous” display by the league. So, the Bulls posted on X that they waived Ivey for conduct detrimental to the team, which promptly ended his short tenure with the Central Division franchise.
At his best, Ivey was a dynamic, speedy ball handler for Detroit that could score in bunches from long-range or near the bucket. Ivey showed flashes of high-level productivity, but his broken leg ultimately prevented the Purdue product from reaching the levels that Detroit (and Chicago) fans hoped for.
Ivey’s contract was set to expire at the end of the season anyway, but it is unclear what his future looks like at the moment.
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