If the Pistons want to maximize their title window and star, they might have to make this tough choice…
After an injury-riddled and often rocky start to his NBA career, Cade Cunningham has finally taken over as the face of the Detroit Pistons. After eight seasons of losing, Detroit Basketball seems to be back, and Cunningham is the focal point.
However, between the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, and ever-dangerous Boston Celtics, Detroit is not guaranteed to get out of the first round next season. Yes, they added Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert to replace Malik Beasley and Dennis Schröder, both of whom are capable scorers, although they have a bit of a logjam at shooting guard.
Between LeVert, Ausar Thompson, Marcus Sasser, and Jaden Ivey, the Pistons have four players who can thrive off-ball in the backcourt next to Cunningham, at least in theory.
In reality, Sasser, LeVert, and Ivey all operate best with the ball in their hands, taking away reps from the team’s sole All-Star.
Detroit Pistons Should Consider Trading Jaden Ivey
The team went 29-20 last season after Ivey was ruled out, and as a fourth-year player with explosive scoring abilities, his trade value would be the highest of all the shooting guards on the roster.
The Pistons have proven that they can win without Ivey, and with Cunningham leading the way, they no longer need to stockpile draft picks. What the Pistons could use is a truly elite center (some diehard fans might not want to hear that Jalen Duren could be upgraded) or shooting, as they were below average in both 3-pointers attempted and percentage last season.
Ivey could be flipped, along with a veteran like Tobias Harris, for salary-matching purposes, for a true shooting threat to play alongside Robinson, or perhaps a win-now player like Jonathan Kuminga. Of course, centers like Nikola Vucevic remain on the trade market, although his offensive-centric approach (while it would work wonders with Cade) doesn’t really fit in with the Motor City’s defined, gritty culture.
Trading away Ivey is not a guaranteed solution. After all, he shot 40.9 percent from deep in limited games last season, although that number may or may not be sustainable. With LeVert in town, Ivey will be competing for minutes, and the Pistons could flip him, open up their depth chart, and try to march through the Eastern Conference playoffs next season, winning their first series since 2008.
Follow Jonah Kubicek on Substack or Twitter for more NBA and WNBA articles and analysis.
Leave a Reply