Jaden Ivey trade grades for Bulls, Pistons in 3-team deal with Wolves

The 2026 NBA trade deadline isn’t until Thursday, but the fireworks are already underway. Shortly after the Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz completed a blockbuster deal for Jaren Jackson Jr., a three-team trade was announced between the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, and Minnesota Timberwolves. Here’s the full breakdown, via Shams Charania.

Bulls get: Jaden Ivey, Mike Conley Jr.

Pistons get: Kevin Huerter, Dario Saric, first-round pick swap with Wolves

Wolves get: Tax relief

Minnesota gets out of the first apron with this deal and significantly trims its luxury tax bill. The Bulls get a look at a former top-5 pick in Jaden Ivey before he hits restricted free agency. The Pistons move up in the draft and get a smart offensive decision-maker with shooting potential in Kevin Huerter. Let’s grade this deal for every side.

The Bulls love targeting former lottery picks who have fallen out of favor with their current team. It worked out decently well for Chicago with Josh Giddey and Jalen Smith, and now they’re trying it again with Jaden Ivey. Ivey was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 draft, but his career took a detour when he broke his fibula during a terrifying play on New Years Day 2025. Ivey was sidelined for until late Nov. and hasn’t looked like himself since coming back, which is understandable after such a serious injury.

Can Ivey get his burst back? He showed elite speed coming out of Purdue and in his early days with the Pistons. He has struggled to beat players off the dribble upon his return this year, and it feels like he needs his top gear back to make this worthwhile for Chicago. It’s absolutely possible that Ivey can return to form with more time, but it’s still a risky bet as he enter restricted free agency this summer. Huerter was actually playing good ball for Chicago despite a shooting slump, and graded out as better than Ivey in advanced metrics like EPM, RAPM, and Darko.

Ivey has looked a little improved as a shooter based on where he was at coming out of Purdue. He made 41 percent of his threes on 8.2 attempts per 100 possessions last season in 30 games before the injury. This year he’s made 37.2 percent of his threes on 9.8 attempts per 100 possessions from three. Ivey’s defensive impact has never been there off the ball, but he’s decent on the ball. He’s never had a season where he’s scored at above league-average efficiency in the NBA, but he’s been close both last year and this year.

The biggest question with Ivey is his health, which makes sense after such a wild injury. He turns 24 years old later this month, and he’s due for a new contract in restricted free agency. Are the Bulls choosing Ivey over Coby White or Ayo Dosunmu? Ivey has never been as good as either player in the NBA yet. It would make sense for the Bulls to sell on one of them if they’re going to resign Ivey. Dosunmu has more trade value, but the team would probably like to keep him around. It would take a pretty big bounce-back for Ivey to be better than the peak version of White, but the Bulls haven’t had the peak version of White this year as he’s battled a calf strain.

Ivey and Josh Giddey are an interesting fit in the backcourt together, but ultimately I’m not super high on it because neither player is a plus defender or plus shooter. Ivey’s speed (if it returns) pairs well with attacking off Giddey’s playmaking theoretically. Ivey will not have White’s volume shooting, or Dosunmu’s defense. I’m skeptical this is a winning backcourt for Chicago long-term, but they didn’t give up too much in this deal. I’d guess the Bulls resign Dosunmu and Ivey, and trade White. Ivey has major scoring potential if he can get back to 100 percent physically, but will the Bulls have the spacing to open up driving lanes for him if he’s sharing the floor with Giddey?

The Bulls feel like they have more moves to make, but this is a fine buy-low gamble for now. Getting Ivey on a team-friendly contract will be essential for Chicago this summer. Something like four years, $50 million would be good for the Bulls, but might be too low. It will be an interesting negotiation, but Chicago has the leverage to match any deal and now gets to see where Ivey is at in a bigger role at the end of this season.

Grade: B

The Pistons are cruising at the top the East, and they just threaded the needle of moving up in the draft while adding a player who can help them immediately. Detroit was never going to re-sign Ivey coming off his injury, and they couldn’t afford to let him play his way back into shape after establishing themselves as the best team in the East this season.

Huerter fits in at the end of their rotation as a smart dribble-pass-shoot decision-maker who is a much better three-point shooter than his 31 percent stroke this year would indicate. Right now, the pick swap with Minnesota would have the Pistons moving up seven spots in the first-round of the 2026 draft. That’s nice work in return for Ivey when he wasn’t part of Detroit’s long-term plans.

The Pistons still need another ball handler and probably need another forward to really secure favorite status in the East. Ivey’s value likely wasn’t that high coming off the injury, and this is a solid return for him even if it doesn’t answer all of the Pistons’ questions. The Pistons should think about swinging bigger before the deadline is over, but as a first move, this is a good one for Detroit.

Grade: A

This trade is all about the luxury tax for Minnesota:

Moving back in the draft to cut the tax bill isn’t the end of the world. Minnesota is rumored to be after Giannis, and this makes another big move more possible.

Grade: B