The Detroit Pistons found their backcourt mate for Cade Cunningham, selecting Jaden Ivey the explosive guard out of Purdue with the fifth pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Ivey has been a polarizing prospect throughout the draft cycle, with several respected evaluators calling him one of the top-3 talents in the entire draft and others believing his athleticism masked some fundamental flaws in his game, and he won’t see the same success going up against NBA athletes.
A two-year player out of Purdue, Ivey averaged 17.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists last season. He shot 35% from deep on five attempts per game.
As a Pistons, he pairs with Cunningham to add burst and a little bit of self-creation and playmaking alongside Cade’s methodical, rock you to sleep game.
With Ivey the Pistons are also adding something they have lacked for nearly a decade, which is a player that gets to the rim and the free-throw line with ease. Ivey averaged 7.3 free throws per 40 minutes last season and had both 200 shot attempts at the rim and over 200 free throws.
While Ivey is 6-foot-4, he’s not a natural point guard but is able to take some of the creation and ball-handling duties off of Cunningham shoulders as a capable secondary playmaker and self-creator.
We will have more on Ivey posted soon.