Pistons’ Jaden Ivey describes comeback process from broken leg
Jaden Ivey, rocking new braids and a goatee, on the process from his Jan. 1 fibula injury to being fully healthy Sept, 29, 2025: “It’s been a journey.”
It was midway through the 2021-22 season when Caris LeVert had his first meeting with J.B. Bickerstaff. The former Michigan wing had just been traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where Bickerstaff was in his second full season as coach.
“The first thing he told me is that he’s adaptable,” Bickerstaff, now entering his second season as the Detroit Pistons’ coach, recalled during the team’s media day on Monday, Sept. 29. “And it’s true. A lot of guys say that, but when the adaptation starts and there’s some up or down or fluctuation, our attitudes tend to fluctuate also. He never did. He just continued to do everything that we asked him to, to the best of his ability, and obviously impacted our growth there, and I expect him to do the same thing here.”
LeVert’s adaptability should fit well with the Pistons. He found out at the last moment that they were interested in him in free agency this past June, as they had to quickly pivot to LeVert and Duncan Robinson in the wake of Malik Beasley’s gambling investigation. While Robinson is a 3-point specialist, LeVert is versatile on both ends and will be asked to a little of everything by the coaching staff.
His career averages reflect the range of responsibilities Bickerstaff and other coaches have trusted him with: 13.9 points, four assists and one steal per game. He can score from all three levels and has one of the highest assist rates in the league among wings. At 6 feet 6, he has the size to handle a variety of defensive matchups.
The Cavaliers leaned on LeVert’s playmaking, and he fell just short of his career-high with 5.1 assists per game in 2023-24.
“Just with the roster that we had, the second year I was there Darius (Garland) got hurt,” LeVert said. “The situation of it, I was asked to do more with the ball. For myself, that’s my natural position, a playmaker sort of player. Over the last couple of years I’ve developed being more of a shooter, catch-and-shoot guy. I would say I’m more of a complete level offensively.”
Since the Pistons lack a designated point guard to back up Cade Cunningham, several players will share ballhandling responsibilities when he sits. That group includes LeVert, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson and Marcus Sasser.
“His versatility is going to be key,” Bickerstaff said after the team’s practice Tuesday. “There’s so many different things you can do with him. You want to be in situations where the ball isn’t always in the same person’s hands and you’ve got other guys who can make plays, so defenses have to shift their eyes and then the ball can move to second-side ballhandlers, and he can do both.
“He can initiate offense and he’s really good as a second-side attacker. We’re going to use his versatility, but he can do so many different things and not just for himself. Having spent so much time with him, he’s a really good playmaker and passer. So he can help his teammates, also.”
LeVert was teammates with Robinson at Michigan, and the two have stayed in touch through their NBA careers. They overlapped from 2014-16, with Robinson redshirting the first year after transferring from Division III Williams College. LeVert also has a relationship with Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon, who was an assistant general manager with the Nets.
“I’m super-proud and excited for Duncan, to play with Duncan,” LeVert said. “Duncan’s had an amazing career. I saw Duncan when he came into Michigan and no one would’ve known he would be at this point right now in the NBA for eight years now. He’s made a great career, made a name for himself. I’m super excited for him and I’m excited to play with him.
“We only played 15 games together, I got hurt my senior year and he was redshirted the year before that. We’re pretty close. We’ve kept in contact over the years.”
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