{"id":1859568,"date":"2026-04-01T15:33:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T12:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1859568"},"modified":"2026-04-01T15:33:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T12:33:06","slug":"jaden-iveys-turbulent-nba-career-from-top-five-pick-to-waived-by-the-bulls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1859568","title":{"rendered":"Jaden Ivey\u2019s turbulent NBA career: From top-five pick to waived by the Bulls"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jaden Ivey\u2019s tenure with the Chicago Bulls ended Monday, as the team placed the former No. 5 pick on waivers for \u201cconduct detrimental to the team\u201d after he criticized the NBA\u2019s support of the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n

Ivey, traded by the Detroit Pistons<\/a> before February\u2019s deadline as part of a three-team deal, got off to a rocky start in Chicago, playing in only four games before completely falling out of the rotation. It was a stunning decline for the 2022 draft pick who once appeared to be the long-term backcourt running mate for Cade Cunningham in Detroit.<\/p>\n

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Three The Athletic<\/em> reporters who chronicled Ivey\u2019s NBA career, from his strong start in Detroit to the injuries and controversies that led to his Chicago exit, outline his career below. James L. Edwards III covered Ivey in Detroit during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Hunter Patterson has been on the Pistons beat since 2024 and saw Ivey before and after the trade. Joel Lorenzi covered the 24-year-old\u2019s short time with the Bulls.<\/p>\n

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The beginning<\/h2>\n

Ivey was almost traded before he played an NBA game.<\/p>\n

The Pistons were in the early stages of a rebuild when they found themselves with the fifth pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. The year before, Detroit landed its franchise cornerstone when it got the No. 1 pick and Cade Cunningham.<\/p>\n

Ivey was on the Pistons\u2019 radar at No. 5. The guard out of Purdue was looked at as the one of the most electric players in the draft, combining blistering speed, force and hops all into one. Some compared him to a smaller Russell Westbrook, but with a better jumper.<\/p>\n

Detroit had a plan. Then-general manager Troy Weaver liked Ivey<\/a> but also wanted Jalen Duren \u2014 the big, chiseled center out of Memphis who was projected to go later in the lottery. Weaver\u2019s goal, over anything else, was to leave that night with Duren, one way or another.<\/p>\n

Teams were blowing up the Pistons\u2019 phone trying to get the No. 5 pick and Ivey. The Washington Wizards and New York Knicks, per league sources, were two teams strongly looking to land the guard. However, when Detroit was on the clock, it ended up selecting Ivey. There was a thought internally that Ivey could get moved, but the Pistons found a way to keep Ivey and still get Duren via trade in the latter part of the lottery.<\/p>\n

Detroit felt good. It had Cunningham. It had the 2020 draft class of Isaiah Stewart, Saddiq Bey and Killian Hayes. Now, adding Ivey and Duren into the fold, the team had a young core that it thought would lead to long-term success in time.<\/p>\n

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Ivey, the young guard whose dreams had just been achieved, was on television crying, happy to make it to the NBA. Additionally, he had a connection to Detroit, as his grandfather played in the NFL for the Detroit Lions, his father was born in Michigan and his mother played in the WNBA for the Detroit Shock.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight is special, to be honest,\u201d Ivey told The Athletic<\/em> on draft night in 2022. \u201cJust to be here, knowing how hard I worked to be here, to be drafted to the Detroit Pistons, an organization that, as a kid, I went to Pistons games. It\u2019s a high-energy, high-level style of play. They\u2019ve got that dawg type of play, too, which is what I like. I want to get back to that. I\u2019m looking forward to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pistons thought Cunningham and Ivey would be their backcourt of the future. The former was a big, methodical guard who played at his own pace. The latter was an athlete\u2019s athlete. Detroit\u2019s decision-makers saw the duo as the perfect yin-and-yang pairing moving forward.<\/p>\n

Twelve games into Ivey\u2019s rookie season, a shin injury forced Cunningham to miss the majority of his sophomore season. The pairing many believed would eventually bring Detroit out of the NBA\u2019s basement would have to wait another season to build chemistry.<\/p>\n

Ivey, though, went on to have a solid rookie season without his running mate. He played in 74 games and started 73. He made the NBA All-Rookie Team, averaging 16.3 points and 5.2 assists per game. The young Pistons were once again near the bottom of the league standings, but the future appeared bright.<\/p>\n

In Year 2, Ivey was different. He wasn\u2019t the player who wore his emotions on his sleeve like he did as a rookie and in college. He was calmer, more tempered. On the court, however, Ivey took a step back with a new coach after Monty Williams replaced Dwane Casey. Ivey\u2019s stats were down across the board. Williams didn\u2019t always treat him as one of the team\u2019s primary players. And with Cunningham back in the picture, the duo was learning to play together while in the midst of a historic losing streak.<\/p>\n

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It was during that second season when Ivey\u2019s strong religious view started to go mainstream, most notably in a March 2024 press conference<\/a> following a loss where, before leaving the podium, Ivey warned the media in the room and those listening that \u201cJesus is coming back, and we all have to repent for our sins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ivey wasn\u2019t like this as a rookie. He rarely, if ever, spoke about religion publicly. When he returned for that second season, he started to offer up more dialogue regarding his faith, referencing it both publicly and behind the scenes. It all culminated in that moment on the podium.<\/p>\n

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Year 3 and the Bulls trade<\/h2>\n

Ivey was in the midst of the best stretch of his career at the beginning of the 2024-25 season. He started each of the 30 games he played in before fracturing his left fibula on Jan. 1, 2025, against the Orlando Magic. Ivey periodically would show the emotion referenced above during those 30 games, but was generally more stoic.<\/p>\n

In a discussion with \u201cSports Spectrum\u201d podcast<\/a>, posted just over a week after suffering the injury, Ivey shed light on what made him cling so closely to his faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a child, I just never felt love before. I never felt what true love felt like,\u201d Ivey said in the video interview. \u201cAs I grew up, there were some traumas I went through. There were some things I saw that I don\u2019t really even talk about, but I know that was a seed that Satan tried to use at an early age. That was tough, obviously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ivey continued to share that he slept with women, drank alcohol, had a pornography addiction and partied in an attempt to \u201cfulfill a certain void\u201d and \u201cfit in with the world.\u201d He also mentioned the struggles he and his wife faced before marrying.<\/p>\n

\u201cI dealt with anger. She had to deal with a lot of anger that I had in my heart,\u201d Ivey said. \u201cThat turned into me somewhat being an abuser. \u2026 There were voids I tried to fill. I\u2019m so grateful for my wife, because she\u2019s been there for me through thick and thin.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ivey said he broke down in Denver and called on Jesus to change his life.\u00a0He\u2019d routinely make a point to give glory to God during his media availability, but that was the extent of it before his injury.<\/p>\n

The injuries began piling up from there. He played one preseason game before needing arthroscopic surgery to relieve right knee discomfort on Oct. 16, 2025.<\/p>\n

Ivey\u2019s long-awaited return didn\u2019t materialize until the Pistons were 15 games into their regular season. He made his debut in Milwaukee against the Bucks on Nov. 22, 2025. Upon his return, Ivey seemed more withdrawn than he\u2019d been at any point in his tenure in Detroit.<\/p>\n

He was relegated to a bench role except for two games before being traded to the Bulls in exchange for Kevin Huerter and a pick swap at the trade deadline. Ivey never regained the burst of speed and athleticism that made him the dynamic guard who heavily relied on his quickness. He was averaging career lows in points, assists and rebounds before being dealt.<\/p>\n

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Chicago tenure and exit<\/h2>\n

Ivey played just four games with the Bulls, starting in three of them. He joined the team in Toronto on Feb. 5, the day of the NBA trade deadline, and suited up alongside several of Chicago\u2019s newest acquisitions that night.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 19, Ivey dressed but never played. Per then-interim head coach Wes Unseld Jr., Ivey\u2019s benching was purely a basketball decision<\/a>. Chicago\u2019s deadline pivot, which abandoned its previous iteration of the team in favor of going younger, made Ivey\u2019s DNP-Coach\u2019s Decision peculiar.<\/p>\n

Ivey was in the final year of his rookie contract. The Bulls acquired him in a buy-low move in hopes that he could return to being the once-promising athlete who was a top-five pick. Compared to some of Chicago\u2019s other deadline acquisitions \u2014 like Rob Dillingham, still with a couple of seasons on his rookie deal \u2014 urgency seemed relevant with Ivey, given his approaching restricted free agency.<\/p>\n

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That night, two of Chicago\u2019s big-minute guards, Josh Giddey and Tre Jones, returned on minutes restrictions. Of the six available guards \u2014 Collin Sexton and Anfernee Simons, both older than 27, were the other two \u2014 Ivey was the only one who didn\u2019t play that night.\u00a0After the game, Ivey was questioned about his understanding of Chicago\u2019s plans for him, in addition to what led to that night\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

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Ivey indicated he felt singled out by questions about his DNP, but reporters noted they would have asked about any guard who sat out,\u00a0particularly after Unseld explained that it was purely a basketball decision, given the logjam that president of basketball operations Art\u016bras Karni\u0161ovas created in the backcourt.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether or not I\u2019m on the court, or I\u2019m playing 10 minutes \u2014 I think today was my first DNP of my career \u2014 I don\u2019t think it changes my character,\u201d Ivey said. \u201cWin, lose or draw, I\u2019m here to do my job, glorify God. Coach (is) looking for players that help win, and Jesus is looking for those who worship him. So, I don\u2019t really think that it affects me that much, as far as not playing. I know that\u2019s why you guys are asking me these questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ivey\u2019s Christianity is by no means unique in the NBA. Superstars like Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Tyrese Haliburton have been outspoken about their faith. The tenor of his public statements, though, is different from his peers.<\/p>\n

Asked about his restricted free agency and how he\u2019s approaching this season as it relates to his future, Ivey told reporters, \u201cI don\u2019t really trust the NBA setting. I trust the Lord. That\u2019s the main thing. He places me where I need to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

On March 26, the Bulls shut down Ivey for the season to manage pain in his left knee. Monday morning on an Instagram livestream, Ivey discussed the NBA\u2019s Pride Month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world can proclaim LGBTQ, right?\u201d Ivey said. \u201cThey proclaim Pride Month. And the NBA, they proclaim it. They show it to the world. They say, \u2018Come join us for Pride Month, to celebrate unrighteousness.\u2019 They proclaim it on the billboards. They proclaim it in the streets. Unrighteousness.\u201d<\/p>\n

After news that the Bulls intended to waive Ivey leaked, he livestreamed from a plane to address several topics, including his beliefs. Two days later, Ivey streamed live again from a car, once again reading Bible scriptures and speaking extensively on his religious beliefs over the course of a 75-minute stream.<\/p>\n

The NBA has not commented on Ivey\u2019s comments or release. According to sources briefed on the matter, Ivey will receive his full $10.1 million salary<\/a> for this season. Once he clears waivers, Ivey will be an unrestricted free agent, able to sign with any NBA team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jaden Ivey\u2019s tenure with the Chicago Bulls ended Monday, as the team placed the former No. 5 pick on waivers for \u201cconduct detrimental to the team\u201d after he criticized the NBA\u2019s support of the LGBTQ+ community. Ivey, traded by the Detroit Pistons before February\u2019s deadline as part of a three-team deal, got off to a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1859568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1859568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859568\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1859568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1859568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1859568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}