Jaden Ivey’s promising preseason came to a sudden standstill, and Detroit’s patience just got another test. The young guard, known for his explosive first step, was expected to be one of the Pistons’ key backcourt anchors heading into the 2025-26 season. Instead, what was supposed to be a fresh start for a franchise in search of direction is already finding itself juggling recovery reports and lineup reshuffles.

According to Shams Charania, Ivey underwent an arthroscopic procedure to relieve right knee discomfort, a precautionary move, but one that pauses his season before it begins. The 23-year-old has been sidelined since logging just 14 minutes in Detroit’s preseason opener against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The team described the procedure as unrelated to his fractured fibula from January, but the optics aren’t ideal for a player still trying to reestablish rhythm and trust in his body.

The Detroit Pistons confirmed they will re-evaluate Jaden Ivey in four weeks, which pushes any potential return closer to mid-November. That means he’ll miss at least a dozen games, which, well, is a setback that ripples far beyond just box scores. Timing, as they say, is everything.

Ivey’s rookie-scale extension deadline sits on October 20. It is a tricky date when the front office must decide whether to invest long-term in a player whose availability is again uncertain. 

For a franchise still crawling toward stability, this is the last kind of question you want threatening overhead. But, to his credit, despite Ivey’s injuries, the man has got skills. 

Last season, Ivey showed genuine growth, averaging 17.6 points per game, shooting 46% from the field and an impressive 40.9% from deep, which are his career bests. He also added 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists nightly, taking the role of the team’s secondary creator beside Cade Cunningham before injuries derailed his momentum.

What Jaden Ivey’s absence means for the Pistons’ 2025-26 plans

That progress made him a symbol of hope for a young core featuring Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson. But this new delay creates fresh challenges for head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who must now redistribute minutes and offensive creation.

Marcus Sasser and Caris LeVert could both see expanded roles, especially as Detroit experiments with spacing and tempo early on. The Pistons’ offensive identity, built around drive-and-kick motion, loses a major player without Ivey’s burst to collapse defenses.

Extending Ivey would be a sign of long-term belief, but his latest surgery complicates that faith. The Pistons’ new president of basketball operations, Trajan Langdon, received a young roster full of potential, but also one that is yet to prove durability and consistency in the NBA.

The Detroit Pistons’ 2024-25 season was a revelation—a 44-38 record that snapped a five-year playoff drought and delivered their first postseason win since 2008. But it ended in agony: a razor-thin first-round loss to the New York Knicks in six games, capped by Jalen Brunson’s dagger 3-pointer in a 116-113 Game 6 heartbreaker.

Detroit led 112-105 with under three minutes left, only to falter on late misses and turnovers, underscoring their youth and inexperience in crunch time.

Ivey’s return (post-knee procedure) injects athleticism and scoring punch into a roster reshaped by offseason moves. Dennis Schroder, the gritty veteran who stabilized the bench after his February trade to Detroit, signed a three-year, $45M deal with Sacramento via sign-and-trade in July, freeing cap space and signalling the Pistons’ pivot to youth.

With the Eastern Conference reeling from devastating injuries- Achilles tears to Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers), and Damian Lillard no longer with the Bucks- Detroit’s window is wide open. At 6’4″ with a 6’8″ wingspan, Ivey’s transition play (1.3 steals per game) exploits the East’s injury-weakened wings.

Schroder was solid but undersized; Ivey’s length disrupts passing lanes, boosting Detroit’s already elite defense (No. 5 in points allowed last year).

Off-ball versatility- unlike Schroder’s ball-dominant style, Ivey thrives in motion- cutting for lobs from Cunningham or spotting up (40.9% 3PT). This spaces the floor for Duren (11.0 PPG, 10.3 RPG) and Tobias Harris (13.7 PPG), who feasted in the Knicks series.

Investing early in Ivey would tie the team’s future to a player who appeared in just 30 games last season. Still, when Ivey is alright, he looks every bit the dynamic guard Detroit envisioned when they drafted him fifth overall in 2022.

The upside of Jaden Ivey remains. It is the reliability that’s still in question.