The NBA has a way of shifting fast. One moment, you’re a celebrated lottery pick with a bright future, and the next, you’re scratching and clawing just to hold onto a roster spot, watching everything from the fringe.
That pattern has played out for three former Detroit Pistons, each of whom went from being viewed as a franchise building block to someone barely hanging onto their NBA lifeline.
Take Isaiah Livers, who was brought in to be a reliable 3-and-D forward. He flashed potential here and there, but across five professional seasons, he’s suited up for just 130 total games. His career-high in appearances came during his second year in Detroit, when he played 52 games, and last season with Phoenix, he managed only 36. For a player drafted largely for his shooting touch, Livers has struggled badly in that area, connecting on just 30 percent and 28 percent from deep over his last two seasons where he was relatively healthy. But health has never been on his side, and since he entered the league at 23, it’s tough to imagine that suddenly turning around.
He got more runway after leaving Detroit than I anticipated, but the results haven’t changed, and it’s hard to picture another team taking a flier on him.
Then there’s Killian Hayes, who dominates in the G-League but can’t translate that production to the NBA level. Last year, he put up gaudy numbers in the G-League, yet the moment he was recalled by the Kings, he looked like the same player we’ve always known. Shooting 30 percent overall and 27 percent from three just won’t cut it in the pros, even if he is somehow still only 25. Sure, some franchise might give him another look, but at this point, it feels like a wasted effort not unlike one of his jumpers. To stick as a guard who can’t shoot, you’d better be elite at just about everything else, and Hayes simply isn’t.
And finally, Jaden Ivey easily the biggest shocker here. Just last season, he was considered part of Detroit’s core, and now he’s completely out of the league, making for one of the more baffling downfalls in recent memory. It’s possible he wasn’t fully recovered physically from that nasty leg injury, because he never seemed like himself last year. But it’s the off-court concerns that appear to be keeping teams away assuming he even still has the desire to play. For a former No. 5 overall pick, it’s striking that I haven’t heard his name linked to any team all offseason. Not a single franchise has shown interest in him as a free agent, which is remarkable, since he’d make for a solid reclamation project for a lottery-bound team hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. Still, his unusual behavior may have scared teams off, and it’s unclear whether he’d even accept an opportunity if one came his way.
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