Jaden Ivey is being assigned to the Detroit Pistons’ G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, one month following surgery on his right knee. The move is the closest indication yet when the young guard might finally be ready to return to regular-season basketball following a broken fibula that sidelined him on Jan. 1.
It is unclear what his timeline looks beyond that or how much actual game action the Pistons will want Ivey to play with the Cruise before they call him back up to the Pistons for his official season debut.
Ivey appeared in just one preseason game for the Pistons before being sidelined with right knee soreness, which eventually led to arthroscopic surgery. Ivey scored seven points in 13 minutes of action in his one preseason game.
While there is no way to say for certain how Ivey injured his right knee, it is not uncommon for a player to deal with an injury on an unrelated part of their body as part of overcompensating as part of their recovery from another injury. It wouldn’t surprise me if Ivey put too much strain on his right knee as he was getting back into shape during his recovery from his broken left fibula.
His impending arrival is coming at an opportune time for the Pistons, who are riding a 10-game winning streak entering Tuesday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks and sit atop the Eastern Conference.
Jalen Duren is having a true breakout season, adding several ingredients to his offensive game and playing a much better brand of defensive basketball. Cade Cunningham hasn’t necessarily discovered his perimeter shot, but he’s getting to the line at the best rate of his career and has a career-high assist-to-turnover ratio.
The Pistons are sorely in need of a couple of things that Ivey can provide — namely some high-level self-creation, a good dose of ball handling, and some additional shooting. We know that Ivey, one of the fastest players in the league, can get his own shot. He is a capable ball-handler and was being pegged as the team’s defacto backup point guard in a rotation with Cade Cunningham and Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert. He also showed an incredibly improved perimeter jumper last season before his injury.
That doessn’t mean all those elements will be immediately apparent, but Ivey could be a piece that helps cement the Pistons as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. He’s fought long and hard to get himself back on the court. Now, the time has nearly arrived.