Jaden Ivey and Detroit Pistons: A match made in heaven where both sides wanted the other
Jaden Ivey wept. Fell into his mother’s shoulders. Heaved, almost, before he finally made his way to the stage to shake the NBA commissioner’s hand Thursday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, his mom recording each step.
The electric Purdue guard wanted to be a Piston. Said it several times in the lead-up to the NBA draft. Now, he was, and the emotion flowed, taken with the team’s No. 5 pick.
He’ll join last year’s first-round pick, Cade Cunningham, who also talked openly about wanting to join the Detroit Pistons. Wanting to be here is no small thing.
ANOTHER ROOKIE: Pistons trade for Jalen Duren with 13th pick in NBA draft
Neither is the talent in the Pistons backcourt all of a sudden. A 6-foot-6, do-everything point guard who can bend the floor and control the pace? Along with a 6-4 combo guard with the quickest first step in college basketball?
Who sobbed when the Pistons chose him?
[ Pistons pair Jaden Ivey with Cade Cunningham to become 'seriously dangerous' ]
Not a bad start. Or, rather, not a bad continuation of what started two drafts ago, when Troy Weaver took over as the Pistons general manager and used every other sentence to say he was here to commence the “restoration.”
He may have missed on Killian Hayes when he took his first swing it the draft two years ago, but he helped himself when he selected Isaiah Stewart and Saddiq Bey later that first round. Last year, he grabbed Cunningham.
Yeah, he was the No. 1 pick. But have you seen the No. 1 picks the last decade?
It’s no sure thing.
Ivey isn’t, either of course. (Who is? Shaq? LeBron?)
Yet his upside is tantalizing. More than tantalizing, actually. He didn’t just have the best speed and acceleration in college basketball. He’ll have close to the best of those things in the NBA, too.
Combine that explosiveness with his relentless pressure on the rim and a deep desire to be in Detroit, as he showed when the commissioner called his name?
[ Dynamic and explosive': What experts say about Detroit Pistons draft pick Jaden Ivey ]
That’s a helluva baseline.
Yes, he’ll have to learn to play defense, to use those all-world gifts he shows attacking the rim on the other end of the floor. And, yes, he’ll have to improve his floor vision and feel and shooting.
The last one will determine what kind of impact he’ll have on the league. If he develops a consistent jumper and a floater and even a mid-ranger, he’ll play in the All-Star Game every year.
Ivey modeled his game after Ja Morant, the scintillating Memphis point guard. This makes sense. He has similar athleticism and his mom, Niele, was an assistant coach for the Grizzlies.
But his game isn’t like Morant’s, other than the first step and hops. Morant is a natural point guard.
Ivey reminds me more of a young Russell Westbrook. Another player who could get to the rim frequently and whose competitive fervor helped the Oklahoma City Thunder get to the NBA Finals.
[ Newest Piston Jaden Ivey mom, dad, grandfather starred in Detroit sports ]
As far as his fit with Cunningham?
Cunningham fits with anyone. Ivey’s speed should open up the floor for him. And the spacing on an NBA floor will help Ivey.
He'll have room in ways he didn't in college. With the way he improved at Purdue, and the way he keeps coming, the Pistons may have found a star.
At the very least, Weaver had to take the shot.
Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor.