After the Sacramento Kings shocked the NBA by selecting Keegan Murray with the fourth pick in this year's draft, it opened the door for the Detroit Pistons to pick Jaden Ivey out of Purdue at No. 5, who was considered the fourth-best prospect in this class, just behind the “big three” of Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren and Jabari Smith.
Following a couple of games in the 2022 NBA2K23 Summer League in Las Vegas, some Detroit fans are already jumping to conclusions on what Ivey can do for the team this year.
Here are some overreactions from Detroit fans following the team's four games in the Summer League.
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2 biggest Detroit Pistons Summer League overreactions
Jaden Ivey is a star in the making
Rookie Jaden Ivey made a good first impression when he scored 20 points, six rebounds and six assists in his Summer League debut last week. Fans immediately went to Twitter to comment on the performance from the Purdue product.
Jaden Ivey is going to be the best player in this draft class. Ja 2.0?
— Hunter Keith (@hjkeith32) July 8, 2022
Ivey was compared to NBA All-Star Ja Morant and gave the fans hope that the future will be bright in Detroit.
However, Ivey only played one full game in Las Vegas, as he got injured five minutes into the second contest and was shut down for the event's remainder. One game does not represent what Ivey can do against NBA players, obviously, especially considering it came at Summer League.
Could the fans be right about Ivey becoming a star? Yes. Could he just become a solid player? Also yes. The Pistons will have to wait to see Ivey play multiple regular season before fully understanding what he can do for them.
Ivey did improve from his first season at Purdue to his second, jumping from 11.1 points per game to 17.3. He also improved his shooting from 39.9% from the field to 46.0% and from behind the arc as well, from 25.8% to 35.8%.
The guard has already shown he's on a steep upward trajectory. Now it's a matter of when and how it continues in the league.
A frontcourt with Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart is happening right away
After three games in Sin City, rookie Jalen Duren averaged 11.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in just over 20 minutes per game. The youngest player in this year's draft showed promise in limited time.
He played two games with Isaiah Stewart, who averaged 13.5 points and 9.0 rebounds with a 58-55-100 shooting splits. After those performances, Duren himself said the duo would be great together in the league.
“I feel like it’s going to be great,” Duren said of his partnership with Stewart, per Pistons writer Keith Langlois. “I think I saw Isaiah was top three among bigs in isolation, so he can move his feet really well. I take pride in my defense, as well, so I feel we’re going to be great together being able to switch one through five. Zay being able to shoot the ball and me being able to pass the ball, it’s going to be great. We’re going to feed off each other really well.”
Pairing the rookie with the third-year big man could be a possibility the fans in Detroit are considering, but it creates some questions. Can Stewart keep up his solid three-point shooting? Is Duren really ready to face the best big men in the NBA?
Should both be true, the Pistons might have an interesting frontcourt for this upcoming season. However, both are still very young and should still need development. Also, the team brought in Nerlens Noel, who could take away minutes from both players, especially Duren.
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