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The Detroit Pistons needed some outside shooting and apparently did not want to deal with Jaden Ivey’s restricted free agency this summer. That’s how we’re getting a three-team deal with Detroit, the Chicago Bulls and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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The Eastern Conference-leading Pistons are satisfying their desire for a shooter by acquiring Kevin Huerter, in addition to Dario Šarić and a 2026 first-round pick swap. The Bulls are acquiring Ivey and Mike Conley. And the Wolves are getting cash considerations to put themselves in a more flexible roster position as they hunt for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Joel Lorenzi confirmed the deal (first reported by ESPN):
Jaden Ivey and Mike Conley Jr. are being traded to the Chicago Bulls in a three-team deal involving the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves, league sources confirmed to The Athletic.
Due to how the contracts are structured, this deal will actually be two consecutive trades, but we’ll combine them into one three-team deal for grading purposes. Let’s bust out the red ink.
Bulls receive Jaden Ivey, Mike Conley
I don’t mind the gamble here for the Bulls, and it’s not like they gave up much to see if Ivey is a guard of the future for them.
Both Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu will be unrestricted free agents this summer. There are potential trades with either player before Thursday’s deadline, or they could both walk after the season. By acquiring Ivey, the Bulls bring in a promising guard who has had issues staying on the court. But they also have control of his future, since Ivey will be a restricted free agent this summer. Considering he hasn’t come close to his potential, the Bulls could be eyeing a very advantageous restricted free agency negotiation in retaining Ivey long-term.
If he does start living up to his potential, Ivey is a pretty dynamic guard. He’s a solid playmaker who is much more of a scorer. In Ivey’s first three seasons, he averaged 16.1 points, 4.4 assists and 3.7 rebounds. He shot just 42.9 percent from the field and 35.2 percent from deep.
However, his third season saw an intriguing jump in accuracy. He shot 46.0 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from deep before a broken fibula ended his season after 30 games. He had a knee injury in the preseason in 2025 that delayed his start to this campaign. He’s been very slow to get back to form, averaging just 8.2 points, 1.6 assists and 1.2 rebounds on 45.0/37.2/78.9 shooting splits. The shooting numbers are encouraging in showing that the leap in accuracy last season is probably real. But he hasn’t been good enough for the Pistons to throw him fully back into the mix. This is a Pistons team in need of more offensive punch, despite their start as the best in the East.
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The Bulls are hoping Ivey is back to the form of his third season before the injuries to his legs. If they get that version of Ivey, he’ll be a nice player alongside Josh Giddey. The move also puts less pressure on the Bulls to pay White or Dosunmu if neither is moved before the deadline. Considering they only gave up Huerter and the recently acquired Šarić, it’s a low-stakes swing with a solid potential reward for them.
Grade: B+
Pistons receive Kevin Huerter, Dario Šarić, first-round pick swap
Per the Detroit Free Press, this pick swap with Minnesota is top-19 protected. The Wolves are currently in the 23rd pick position with the standings, while the Pistons are sitting at the 29th pick. So this is a decent little jump for Detroit if these positions hold.
As for the player side of this deal, Huerter potentially gives the Pistons something they desperately need — outside shooting. The Pistons are 21st in 3-point accuracy and only 27th in 3-point volume. That makes sense considering they’re so bad at outside shooting. Duncan Robinson, Ivey, Daniss Jenkins and Javonte Green are the only players in their rotation over the league average of 36.0 percent (Cade Cunningham, who was around the league average the previous two seasons, has shot an inexplicably bad 32.4 percent from deep this season). Ivey is headed out in that equation, and Robinson is truly the only feared outside shooter the Pistons have on the roster.
In theory, Huerter provides some help. He’s 37.1 percent on 5.6 attempts per game for his career. That’s a legitimate shooter from the outside. The problem is he’s only shooting 31.4 percent on 5.1 attempts this season. In his first six seasons between Atlanta and Sacramento, Huerter made 38.2 percent of his 3-pointers. He was a big-time sharpshooter. He’s down to 32.9 percent over the last season and a half. Ideally, getting set up by Cunningham’s playmaking will cure a lot of those shooting woes. Huerter is a much better shooter than he’s shown this season, and the Pistons need him to be.
Giving up on Ivey’s potential is tough, but this team is looking to win now. Ivey wasn’t helping with that. Making a play for someone like Malik Monk would’ve made more sense to round out the offensive attack, but the Pistons went with a lower-stakes move by trying to bring in Huerter as a potential rental. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Grade: B-
Wolves receive cash considerations
There are two significant things the Wolves get here by moving Conley and not really taking anything back.
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First, the Wolves move under the first-apron payroll threshold. They’re still paying the luxury tax by nearly $4 million, but moving off Conley’s $10.4 million eliminates some restrictive trade and roster restrictions. Conley is a great veteran presence to have in the locker room, but his performance has slipped to the point where he is unplayable. Just to put Conley’s performance in perspective, Bones Hyland has been much more usable for the Wolves.
Secondly, the Wolves likely believe this puts them in a much better position to acquire Antetokounmpo this summer. With fewer restrictions then, the Wolves can theoretically be more aggressive in pursuing him. They have to hope the Bucks are big fans of some combination of Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle and Naz Reid while also not requiring significant draft capital back in return. The way that becomes more doable in Minnesota’s favor is if Giannis wants to play alongside Anthony Edwards and influences the deal to Minnesota.
None of this is guaranteed or necessarily more likely than before. However, the Wolves getting under the apron while still maintaining the same level of competitiveness for the rest of this season is worthy of a good grade already. It becomes an A+ if it lands them Giannis at some point.
Grade: B