He is one of those kids we know nothing about: Jaden Ivey joined Cade Cunningham on the Pistons backcourt. A lot of hype because a lot of « on dit », an angelic face that fits with his style of play, without fear, and an arçeauvore diet that he follows to the letter. The words are sweet, remains to be seen if the emotion chuckles (it doesn’t mean anything).
We are in 1825.
The Pistons are at the top of the NBA, the duo Isiah Thomas – Joe Dumars beats any franchise by at least 40 points, the bards and Lara Fabian sing their exploits, all is well in Motor City. But with the discovery of America by Columbus, many Spaniards landed in the NBA and established their domination there. Pulling the curtain on the Thomas–Dumars pair, Willy Hernangomez Sr. was voted MVP three times in a row and carried the Barcelona Tigers to the Larry O’Brien trophy in 1859, 1860, 1861 and 1864. Small ellipsis, just under 200 years and two or three geopolitical moves later, hope is reborn in Detroit: Cade Cunningham is coming off a good rookie season, Jaden Ivey has just arrived. Who is Jaden Ivey? A dragster from Purdue, selected in the 5th position of the Draft 2022, came to fill an obvious lack on post 2. The Pistons have long sent Killian Hayes to complete the backcourt alongside Cade Cunningham, but if the Frenchie doesn’t hold the ball, his level stagnates and his potential remains untapped. Troy Weaver realized that, or rather, Troy Weaver saw that the team wasn’t performing with Killian Hayes back. He therefore shifted – him or Dwane Casey – Kiki on the bench, in a role of 6th man, and went in search of the perfect complement to Cunningham’s ball outfit. This “perfect complement”here he is, in his works at the last Summer League.
Outside of his future association with Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey will probably be the most prominent rookie in the morning top 10. He has the profile to climb the interiors nailed to the ground, unlock an offensive sequence that goes around in circles – with a lightning jerk – or even draw from afar, depending on the defense offered by his vis-à-vis. A triple threat, which will bring more madness than structure to a slow workforce. We can’t fault their effectiveness, but Saddiq Bey, Marvin Bagley III and Isaiah Stewart aren’t known for frolicking in transition. The game of the Pistons is established more on the half-court and apart from Killian Hayes – whose final choices remain hazardous – too few are those capable of pushing the leather. It is therefore well thought out to add verticality and two lightning calves next to a great manager, excellent in controlling the tempo, more in the background when it is necessary to ignite a meeting. We reason a little too much like on Football Manager? Probably, so we stop the superlatives and we meet in mid-October to draw a first answer from all this reasoning, truncated or real.
Two plus two is four, but basketball is far from an exact science. We still see ourselves scratching the preview of the Knicks by Joakim Noah and Kristaps Porzingis, announcing the ultra complementarity between the two interiors – one stretch, the other with his feet in the slush – so that the relationship is finally non-existent. Only words.