The Detroit Pistons are giving Jaden Ivey a fresh start, sending the beleaguered guard to the Chicago Bulls in a multi-team trade that will net the Pistons Kevin Huerter and Dario Saric from the Chicago Bulls.
The full details of the trade are as follows, according to Shams Charania of ESPN:
Detroit Pistons receive:
- Dario Saric
- Kevin Huerter
- 2026 first-round protected swap from Minnesota
Chicago Bulls receive:
- Jaden Ivey
- Mike Conley Jr.
Minnesota Timberwolves receive:
- Huge trade exception and flexibility to chase Giannis (my editorializing)
It’s a relatively sad end to the brief tenure of Jaden Ivey, which also must have felt interminably long from his point of view. The Purdue product was thrust into primary playmaking duties in Year 1 after Cade went down early in the season. Year 2 was the Monty Williams torture chamber. Year 3 was a brief breakout campaign cut short by a gruesome leg injury. Year 4 has been Ivey, finally healthy enough to play, while his young teammates have all gelled in his absence. He’s also clearly not 100% back, and might not be for another season.
Ivey was clearly not 100%, clearly on the outside looking in on how this young team was establishing its identity, and clearly not in the long-term plans entering what will be restricted free agency this summer. The Pistons didn’t need a great return and, well, they certainly didn’t get one.
Kevin Heurter is a career 37% three-point shooter, and he’s three inches taller than Ivey. That is about the long and short of Detroit’s motivations for this deal. But he’s down to 31% on the Bulls this season, shot 30% in 43 games with Sacramento last season before rebounding in a short stint with the Bulls after the trade deadline.
Dario Saric is just salary ballast and might never actually play for the Pistons, and likely gets waived if still on the roster by the end of NBA Trade Deadline day.
Trajan Langdon needed to trade for a shooter, and he’s banking on Heurter being that guy, provided he’s getting clean looks courtesy of Cade Cunningham and not a Bulls team whose only point guard (Josh Giddy) has missed huge chunks of the season.
Then there is the pick swap. Because of the absolute buzzsaw out West and Detroit’s comfortable position in the East, it is likely this is a pick swap that actually conveys. As of today, it would allow Detroit to move up six spots from 29 to 23 in the NBA Draft. We will see where is lands by the end of the season.
If this move by Minnesota is a precursor to a huge Giannis or Giannis-like move, then both these teams could find themselves picking in the low 20s by season’s end.
As with most deals near the NBA trade deadline, this could morph into something bigger. With huge salaries and three teams already involved, it’s the kind that can grow pretty easily and suck more teams into its orbit. As of now, the Pistons would need to cut a player to execute the trade.
They could cut or ship out Isaac Jones easily, and then cut Saric in an effort to create a permanent roster spot for two-way player Daniss Jenkins, which is near the top of Detroit’s priority list this week. We will have more if the story develops.
