Detroit Pistons general manager Troy Weaver had himself a Thursday night.
The Detroit Pistons added two lottery picks to their young core by drafting Purdue guard Jaden Ivey with the No. 5 pick in Thursday night’s NBA Draft at Barclays Center in New York, then trading for Memphis center Jalen Duren, who was selected by Charlotte with the 13th pick.
The Pistons acquired Duren in a trade with the New York Knicks, who acquired Duren from the Hornets and then packaged him with veteran point guard Kemba Walker in an effort to clear cap space — and all it cost the Pistons was the 2025 first-round pick acquired in Wednesday’s Jerami Grant trade, according to multiple reports.
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Pistons “are expected to discuss a contract buyout” with Walker.
You get all that?
“So far, so good,” Weaver said when sitting down for his press conference.
Whatever the frills were that came paired with his arrival, Ivey sure does sound happy to be in Detroit. He said that when his agent told him he was going to Detroit, “I just broke down in tears.”
“(I) definitely wanted to come here,” Ivey said. “It felt like home when I went there for my team workout. It’s a special place to be and everybody was so genuine; I think that’s what I liked about it the most. It felt like a family.”
Ivey, 20, is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound guard with elite athleticism that can get to the rack. He averaged 17.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists during his sophomore season at Purdue and was named both a consensus All-American and All-Big Ten.
Ivey has strong ties to Detroit. His mom, Notre Dame women’s coach Niele Ivey, played for the Detroit Shock. His dad, Javin Hunter, won three state titles in basketball with Detroit Country Day and his grandfather, James Hunter, played for the Lions.
Weaver said “it makes all the difference in the world” when you have a player that wants to be where he’s drafted.
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“Players we’ve selected in the past, they’ve wanted to be here. And it bodes well — it’s a win-win on both sides,” Weaver said. “You want them, and they want to be here, so you know you’re going to get their best effort.”
Ivey is a native of South Bend, Indiana. As it stands, the most intriguing part of his game is how he’ll pair in the backcourt alongside last year’s No. 1 pick, Cade Cunningham.
“I think I fit well with Cade. He’s a guy that wants to win, a very unselfish player. I can play off the ball or with the ball and we can take turns, whatever the coaches need to do to win,” Ivey said. “I think I fit in well (with Detroit’s culture). I think I’m going to come in and work my hardest on the defensive end and offensive end.”
A backcourt featuring Ivey and Cunningham will have “versatility, length, athleticism, the competitive spirit. I’m looking forward to watching those guys play together,” Weaver said.
“(Ivey will) help generate easy buckets, play on the second side, be able to create for others on the floor as well, so we think it’s a big-time fit.”
Weaver said that Ivey’s shot can get even better, “because he’s a worker.”
“He’s a very thoughtful young man. He really plans his success. Not only does he want to be great, but he puts the work behind it, so that’s a great recipe for success,” Weaver said.
Duren Duren
Duren, 18, is a 6-foot-11, 250-pound big man who averaged 12 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in his freshman year with Memphis. Duren skipped his senior year of high school and reclassified to instead play as a freshman, making him one of the youngest players in this year’s draft.
“Elite physical gifts,” Weaver said when asked about what stands out in Duren’s game. “And, I mean, he’s one of the youngest players in this draft. Tremendous upside, tremendous young man, elite physical gifts and elite hands. Big-time rebounding, rim protector. … So, he just brings a physicality and a presence and a size that we were looking for.”
Weaver said that when the opportunity presented itself to grab Duren, the Pistons “were aggressive in making it happen.”
Despite not knowing which team he’d originally land with, Duren said that he was excited to play “at the highest level” and with “all the greatest players in the world.”
“I’m just happy to even get the opportunity, being blessed enough to be in the NBA. Not everybody gets the opportunity, so the fact that I’m here is good for me. I’m happy to play for any team and happy to be a Detroit Piston.”
Despite not having the best start to his freshman campaign, Weaver said he was impressed by the stood out in Memphis’ turnaround during the second half of the season.
“By the second half of the season, he had started to really figure it out and realize he had to work,” Weaver said. “He had never really been challenged. Prior to going to college, he was dominant. And I think he really figured out the second half of the season, you could just see how he played and how their team really turned it around.
“I mean, they had a lot of talented freshman in there. Some guys didn’t make it out — he did. And he came out in a big way, so that’s a testament to him and his character and his perseverance.”
Weaver added that Duren could fit with third-year center Isaiah Stewart in a similar fashion to Boston’s Al Horford and Robert Williams.
“I mean, they’re different,” Weaver said. “(Duren is) bigger. His presence is more pronounced. Isaiah has shown maybe to play out in the floor a little bit more, shooting the 3, but they’re different. They can play together easy.
“I don’t see it as a challenge either way. Two different players, but they both guys bring hard hats, and that’s what we’re looking for.”
Ivey and Duren are the fifth and sixth first-round picks to be drafted by the Pistons in Weaver’s tenure, including Cunningham at No. 1 overall last season. A pairing with Cunningham and the young group that includes Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes could be another key piece to their rebuild after a 23-59 season.
The Pistons also selected Gabriele Procida with pick No. 36, which was acquired in Wednesday’s trade with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Nolan Bianchi is a freelance writer.