Jaden Ivey working through growing pains in second year with Pistons
INDIANAPOLIS -- Jaden Ivey is trying to keep his approach as simple as he can.
The former Purdue All-American and son of Notre Dame women's basketball coach Niele Ivey was drafted with the No. 5 overall pick in 2022 into a Pistons franchise that is midst of dramatically rebuilding itself around young lottery picks like himself. In the long term, that's not a bad place to be, as the Pistons clearly see him as part of a talented young core that they can build around. However, the short-term growing pains have been rough.
In his second season as a pro, Ivey is already playing for his second head coach with Monty Williams having replaced Dwane Casey, who the Pistons moved into the front office. And Ivey's role is much more in flux in Year 2 than it was in Year 1 now that Cade Cunningham -- the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft and the cornerstone of the rebuild -- is healthy and the Pistons are trying to find out if and how Cunningham and Ivey should play together. Ivey started 73 of the 74 games he appeared in as a rookie when he averaged 16.3 points per game and was named to the All-Rookie second team, but he's started just three of the 12 games he's appeared in so far with four lost to a "nasty" viral illness in early November.
Plus, there hasn't been much winning. The Pistons have picked in the top seven of the last four drafts and in the top five of the last three, and they very much seem to be on track to do so again. After finishing 17-65 in 2022-23, the worst record in the NBA by five games, they are 2-14 this season with 13 straight defeats. The Washington Wizards have an equally bad record, but no one else is worse.
But Ivey is focusing on incremental personal improvement and hoping that will pay off in the long term.
"Every day is a new opportunity," Ivey said on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse before his Pistons lost to the Pacers 136-113. "Just be the best version of yourself. Nothing that I want in life is going to be easy. I'm going to have to work for everything. That's the mindset I want to carry every single day is that I'm going to work hard for all the things I want in life. Let God take of everything. Just continue to work, put my head down. Nothing is easy in this league."
It hasn't been easy this season for Ivey to build any form of rhythm. Last season, he was the team's second-leading scorer in terms of total points behind Bojan Bogdanovic and third in average behind Bogdanovic and Cunningham, who played 12 games before a stress fracture in his shin that required surgery and ended his season. When Ivey was on the floor, he got to dictate action and be as ball dominant as he wanted to be.
This season, he had to get used to coming off the bench, and in the opener against Miami he scored just four points on 1 of 7 shooting in just 17 minutes of action. The next night he had 14 shots and scored 18 points. The following night he took six and scored seven. He followed that with three straight double-figure scoring games, but then took ill and missed four games over the next six days. He told reporters in Detroit that he had symptoms he had never experienced before and could barely keep down any food or drink.
"It was obviously tough," Ivey said. "You get a couple of games in and try to get acclimated to the season and then it happens to where you just get sick and a really bad illness. It was obviously tough, but I'm here today, get to see another day, get to play the game that I love."
The Pistons worked him back into action slowly, but then moved him into the starting lineup on Nov. 19 when starting guard Killian Hayes had to sit out with a shoulder sprain. Even once Hayes returned, Ivey stayed in the starting lineup and saw his offensive production improved. He scored 17 points on 7 of 8 shooting in a loss to the Nuggets, then scored 25 points on 9 of 16 shooting in the loss to the Pacers.
The move helped Williams get a better sense for what Ivey can do. Just as was the case at Purdue and at La Lumiere and Mishawaka Marian High School before that, Ivey showed elite athleticism and continued ability to get to and finish at the rim as well as the range to hit the occasional 3-pointer. He's averaging 12.5 points per game and shooting 52.9% from the floor.
"I love his athleticism," Williams said, "and his ability to get downhill."
Williams also believes Ivey can be an impactful player on the defensive end. Defense was not a strength for Ivey at Purdue where he averaged 14.9 points per game over two seasons, but the 6-4, 195-pounder with a 6-9 1/2 wingspan has the necessary physical tools and Williams believes the most important thing he needs to do is stay disciplined.
"I think he's a much better defender than he gives himself credit for," Williams said. "I think he has the ability to be a big-time defender. ... Any young player just has to be more consistent, whether it's understanding terminology, understanding personnel, using their abilities within the system. A lot of guys have tons of ability but they want to go for steals or they want to go for plays that aren't there on the defensive end as opposed to being solid. It's really hard to teach young players how to be solid on defense as opposed to try to hit a home run. A lot of young guys around the league do the same thing. That's what we're trying to teach, not just JI, but all of our young guys, that solid, hitting singles is enough. Force teams to shoot contested shots and rebound and you can play in transition."
Ivey has taken that message seriously and tried to adjust his defense in kind so that his focus is keeping ball-handlers in front of him.
"Solid wins a lot of games," Ivey said. "You don't always have to make the highlight play or the home run play. I've really looked at that as a positive this year to where I can just be myself and be solid. You're playing against the best players every night. It takes effort, it takes energy, it takes second-effort plays on the defensive end. This year, I've really leaned into that, being that player."
Despite the changes in playing time and role, Williams said he's been pleased with how Ivey has handled it all.
"He's a developing player with a lot of talent," Williams said. "He's got his head in there every day, learning and growing in a new system. It's Year 2, second coach, that can be a lot on anybody. I've enjoyed his spirit. He hasn't run from all the stuff has been new and sometimes overwhelming."
Ivey has embraced the new and, presumably, sometimes overwhelming parts of his family life as well. He and his wife Caitlyn Newton welcomed their first child earlier this year, their son Noah.
"It's been great," Ivey said. "... He's growing every single day. It's crazy just seeing the new things he does every single day. It's a joy to wake up to see him and knowing that I work hard every day to provide for my family. It's something that I've always wanted. I'm just going to continue to watch him grow and see him hopefully one day be a star in this life. I'm just happy and blessed."
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue's Jaden Ivey staying solid in second year with Pistons
