Jaden Ivey has experienced somewhat of a bizarre start to the 2023-24 NBA season, his second year in the association. Ivey has missed the last few games with a reported unspecified illness, per Matt Roth; however, some are wondering whether there may be friction between Ivey and newly minted Pistons coach Monty Williams, who recently called out unnamed players on his team for their lack of defense, per Mike Curtis of The Detroit News.

Considering all of these factors, and Ivey's reputation as a less than superb defensive stopper, some are wondering whether his mysterious illness may in actuality be some sort of larger plan by either himself or the Pistons to get the second-year man traded.

The circumstances are certainly a bit bizarre considering Ivey's youthful age and the lack of details surrounding the illness.

Ivey was selected by the Pistons with the fifth pick in the 2022 Draft in the hopes of establishing a strong backcourt tandem with fellow high draftee Cade Cunningham. Unfortunately, Cunningham was forced to miss most of Ivey's rookie season, which kept the team from establishing much synergy between what figured to be a dynamic duo.

Despite Ivey still likely being a large part of the Pistons' long term plans, that still hasn't stopped fans of other teams from speculating on what he might bring to their respective franchises in a trade.

For example, a three-headed monster of Jaden Ivey, Kyle Kuzma, and Jordan Poole with the Washington Wizards would certainly score a lot of points (while also probably giving up just as many, but who's counting).

In any case, as the saga continues, don't expect the speculation to quiet down.