Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey underwent an arthroscopic procedure on Thursday to relieve right knee discomfort he's battled throughout the preseason, the team announced.
Ivey will miss the start of the 2025-26 season and will be re-evaluated by the Pistons' medical staff in four weeks.
After working his way back from a broken left fibula he suffered in January and having a full offseason to recover, Ivey is once again on the sidelines in Detroit battling another injury.
The good news is that the Pistons say this injury is “unrelated” to his fibula injury and he is expected to make a full recovery.
Ivey, 23, is one of the featured rising talents on Detroit's roster. Team president Trajan Langdon and head coach JB Bickerstaff have continued to talk highly of Ivey throughout his leg injury recovery, and they expect him to hold a big role next to Cade Cunningham during the 2025-26 season.
When Ivey will be able to make his season debut is a mystery after this knee procedure on Thursday, as he won't be re-evaluated until November 13. At that point, the medical staff could clear him for full basketball activities, but he will need adequate time to ramp up his conditioning and on-court work.
It is unlikely that Ivey will play his first game until sometime late in November, at the earliest.
Without Ivey on the court, the Pistons will turn to veterans Caris LeVert and Duncan Robinson, two of their major offseason additions.
Whereas LeVert will take pressure off Cunningham as a secondary scorer and ball-handler in the backcourt, Robinson will replace the lost 3-point production left behind by Malik Beasley, who remains unsigned entering the new year. Second-year wing Ron Holland II is also a candidate to see his minutes significantly increase to begin the 2025-26 season.
In 30 games last season, Ivey averaged 17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 46.0 percent from the floor and 40.9 percent from 3-point range. After Ivey suffered his leg injury, the Pistons went on to finish the season with a 44-38 record, making their first playoff appearance since 2019.
