It was a tumultuous past 24 hours for the Chicago Bulls. Before they suffered a blowout 129-114 defeat against Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs, they took the stern decision of waiving young guard Jaden Ivey following several insensitive comments on his Instagram live videos. While it was heartbreaking to see the young guard get waived, some rumors suggest that not many players in the dressing room are too sad about the shooting guard’s dismissal.

With everything happening around the Bulls franchise involving Ivey, many reports suggest that the situation was avoidable. According to the Chicago Sun Times’ Joe Cowley, there’s not much hue and cry among the players following Ivey’s unceremonious exit from the team. There were reportedly indications that Ivey was a preacher long before he moved to Chicago, something Detroit kept under wraps for as long as possible.

Recently, Ivey started posting videos on Instagram speaking a lot of religious stuff and has been receiving a lot of backlash. He called out the NBA for organizing Pride Month activities and promoting inclusivity among all sections of society. Later, he made a bizarre statement about Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry regarding his religious beliefs. Soon after all these videos, the Bulls took the eventual step and waived him. Ivey had played only four games for the Bulls before he suffered knee soreness. During his recovery, he suffered another knee injury in practice, which practically forced the Bulls to shut him down for the season. The 24-year-old moved to Chicago from Detroit as part of a three-team trade.

Cowley blames the Bulls’ coach, Billy Donovan, and the executive vice president of basketball operations, Arturas Karnisovas, for the Ivey fiasco. Sharing that they did not do enough groundwork before making the move for the young shooting guard from Detroit. He calls this entire fiasco ‘the latest flammable excrement dropped on a dumpster pile that was already in flames.’

Ivey reportedly has been a ‘preacher’ much before he stepped foot in Chicago. He reportedly gave sermons to reporters whom he met during interviews, asking them if they’ve been “saved” and if they “fornicated before marriage.” The relationship between a player and a reporter is not built on that. Ivey may have a religion, but the reporters may not feel obliged to be preached to by a 24-year-old. He carried the same habits to the Chicago Bulls locker room and was not much likable there as well.

Chicago Bulls star Josh Giddey sends a heartfelt message to Jaden Ivey following his dismissal

While Jaden Ivey’s getting waived off by the Chicago Bulls following his controversial statement on Instagram live has sparked a lot of confusion, not many people associated with the Bulls seem to have cared enough about the decision. In hindsight, it was not a great decision to push for a trade for the former Detroit star, not because of his religious statement but also because of his incessant injuries, which have drained out his explosiveness, and he is simply not the same player anymore.

Although he was not very popular in the Bulls dressing room, and as per reports, not a single player has shared a tear for the 24-year-old following his removal from the roster. Yet, Bulls guard Josh Giddey shared a few words of encouragement for Ivey following their defeat against the Spurs.

“He’s a very talented player,” Giddey told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Obviously, the whole thing is kind of unfortunate in a way. I hope he gets the help he needs, whatever he’s going through or not going through. I do really hope he gets help. It’s not going to be with the Bulls anymore, but wherever it is, I hope he gets it.”

Ivey’s Bulls stint was cut short to only four games before he got injured following his trade from Detroit, which involved the Minnesota Timberwolves in a three-team trade right at the deadline. It was only last week that the Bulls revealed that they had to shut him down for the remainder of the season.

The youngster actually had a promising start to his NBA career as he was selected as the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft by the Pistons. Ivey was an immediate starter as a rookie, averaging 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.2 assists, playing for a team that had only won 17 games that season.

He had a slight dip in his sophomore year in the NBA before experiencing a big breakout in his third season. He averaged 17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.0 assists before suffering a broken leg on January 1, 2025.  Following that injury, he was never the same player again and was gradually relegated to the bench from being a starter for the Pistons, and eventually got traded. Now, Ivey will be a free agent this summer, but it is unclear if a team will take a punt on him following such a major debacle.