A few days removed from his return to on-court activities, Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey is making another progression toward his season debut for the team.
Since undergoing an arthroscopic procedure to relieve right knee discomfort ahead of the start of the season, Ivey has been rehabbing for the last month. It looks like he’s ready to get in on the action as the Pistons announced Tuesday he has been assigned to their G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise.
An assignment to the G League for players who missed significant time due to injury will often signal an impending return to their NBA team.
Outside a 14-minute appearance in the Pistons’ preseason opener against the Memphis Grizzlies, the 2022 fifth overall pick hasn’t played on an NBA court since Jan. 1 when he suffered a season-ending leg injury against the Orlando Magic.
The injury prematurely ended a season where Ivey was posting career numbers with 17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and four assists per game, while shooting 41% from beyond the arc.
As Ivey was making his way through surgery and rehab on a left broken fibula, the discomfort in his knee started to pop up and the Pistons wanted to get in front of any further issues with a minimally-invasive procedure on Oct. 16.
Following his latest evaluation, Ivey began taking part in on-court activities and has been present at both Pistons shoot around and getting in pre-game sessions at Little Caesars Arena.
The Pistons have continued to perform at a high level in his absence — and the continued absence of starters Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson and Tobias Harris — as they are on a 10-game winning streak and sit first in the Eastern Conference with a 12-2 record.
Before he makes a full return, Ivey will have the chance to play with the Cruise. Motor City has three games on their schedule the rest of the month with a pair of road games against the Noblesville Boom (Pacers) on Nov. 22 and 23 and home games against the Wisconsin Herd (Bucks) on Nov. 25 and Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves) on Nov. 29.
The Cruise play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit.
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