{"id":581284,"date":"2026-02-04T06:27:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T06:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/581284\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T06:27:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T06:27:31","slug":"pistons-star-sends-emotional-message-to-jaden-ivey-after-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/581284\/","title":{"rendered":"Pistons Star Sends Emotional Message to Jaden Ivey After Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\">A key member of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/topic\/sports-nba-pistons\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Detroit Pistons<\/a> is on the move.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\">Jaden Ivey was included in a pre-deadline deal on Tuesday afternoon. As the Pistons struck a deal with the Chicago Bulls and the Minnesota Timberwolves, Ivey ended up with his team\u2019s division rival.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\">On Tuesday night, following the Pistons\u2019 win over the Denver Nuggets, Detroit standout Ausar Thompson had an emotional response to the trade that\u2019s in the works.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\">\u201cThat\u2019s my brother for life,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheHoopCentral\/status\/2018897284914913394\" rel=\"nofollow\">said Thompson<\/a>. \u201cWe were locker mates since I got on this team. We always sat next to each other. To lose him\u2014possibly lose him\u2014kind of hurts, but you know that\u2019s how it works. I know wherever JI goes, he\u2019s going to be great. So, no worries for him. Love that guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img id=\"11462280\" alt=\"\" caption=\"INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 28: (EDITORS NOTE: Image was captured using a remote camera positioned above the field of play.) Kris Dunn #8 of the Los Angeles Clippers drives to the basket  against Jaden Ivey #23 and Ausar Thompson #9 of the Detroit Pistons during the fourth quarter at Intuit Dome on December 28, 2025 in Inglewood, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy\/Getty Images)\" credit=\"\" sourcealt=\"\" sources=\"[]\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"3776\" height=\"2517\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2253970410.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\">Ivey arrived with the Pistons in 2022. He was a first-round pick (fifth overall) out of Purdue. At the time, the Pistons were recognized as one of the bottom-feeders of the Eastern Conference. Throughout Ivey\u2019s first two seasons, he played a full-time role in a rebuilding situation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\">Last year, the Pistons turned everything around and Ivey\u2019s rise was a big reason for that. As a third-year guard, Ivey averaged 17.6 points per game while shooting 40 percent from three. Just 30 games in, Ivey suffered a season-ending leg injury. He made a full recovery, but other ailments affected the start of his 2025-2026 season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\">With 33 games in the bag with the Pistons, it was clear that Ivey could use a fresh start. The veteran guard was averaging just 8.2 points per game, while shooting 37 percent from three. He never won his starting job back alongside Cade Cunningham. Now that Ivey\u2019s on the move, he gets a chance to start fresh with the Bulls, who could be on pace for a rebuild.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\">Once Ivey wraps up his $10.1 million season in 2026, he will become a restricted free agent over the summer. It\u2019s clear the Pistons no longer saw a long-term future with Ivey. Despite the sudden change in season, the third-year standout Ausar Thompson doesn\u2019t believe that will change his friendship with the ex-Pistons sharpshooter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_blockParagraph__I2kr4\">For all the latest\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/topic\/sports-nba\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NBA\u00a0<\/a>news and rumors, head over to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/sports\/nba\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Newsweek Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A key member of the Detroit Pistons is on the move. Jaden Ivey was included in a pre-deadline&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581285,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3773],"tags":[1026,7,296,188,3860,1018,6,297],"class_list":{"0":"post-581284","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-pistons","8":"tag-ausar-thompson","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-detroit","11":"tag-detroit-pistons","12":"tag-detroitpistons","13":"tag-jaden-ivey","14":"tag-nba","15":"tag-pistons"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116010945826371777","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}