Disclaimer: I’m not a Pistons fan, but my all-time favorite nba team is the 04 Pistons (tayshaun and sheed is my basketball wing nirvana), and I have watched a ton of Pistons over the last couple years.

First, the obvious. Jaden Ivey is clearly a better nba prospect AND player than Killian Hayes. Not starting Ivey to begin the season, however, was actually a recognition of Ivey’s talent and an investment in him.

Here’s what I mean. Jaden Ivey, since Purdue, has never been committed to playing winning basketball on every possession. He had lapses in college, and those lapses turned into bad habits on a bad Pistons team. Sitting Ivey was a message: play winning basketball, and the scoring/highlights/accolades will come.

While it is too early to know if these lessons stuck, I have never seen Jaden Ivey this committed to winning basketball. If he keeps this up, he might be able to be a part of a Cade-Ausar-Ivey combo (probably all will grow into #2 options on good teams), where each player complements the other, even if one is clearly better than the rest (Cade, or Ausar if he develops a knock-down jump shot). Suddenly, this team starts to feel more like a young Boston Celtics and less like a young Charlotte Hornets team.

But for that to happen, Jaden Ivey needed to learn how to play complementary basketball. He’ll get those reps this season, and depending on Cade, Ivey, and Ausuar’s development, the end of this rebuild could be sooner than it feels at the moment.

Monty made a long-term decision, which he can do because the Pistons gave him a contract that signals long-term commitment. This hurts now, but it could be the turning point in the rebuild.

But! It’s the Pistons, so who knows, you might trade Ivey tomorrow and I’ll look like an idiot. I’m rooting for you to figure it out. The NBA is more fun when y’all are good.