DETROIT — Cade Cunningham has a few new sidekicks.
The Detroit Pistons added 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.
The Pistons then acquired Memphis center Jalen Duren in a trade with the New York Knicks, packaged him with veteran point guard Kemba Walker, and sent the pair to Detroit in an effort to clear cap space, according to multiple reports.
You get all that?
Ivey, 20, is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound guard with elite athleticism who 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.
"As a kid, you dream of these moments. Just to be here, just to know that I've worked so hard to get here, I finally accomplished my dream. It's everything," Ivey said in an interview with NBA TV.
"My mindset is, 'Let's get to it.' I'm locked in after this moment. This is a night that I can enjoy, but tomorrow, when I get to Detroit, it's on. I'm coming with that mentality to Detroit, for sure."
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.
Ivey is a native of South Bend, Ind. During a pre-draft media session, Ivey said that he paid a lot of attention to the Pistons last season because of "the pieces they have, young talent," and would fit in well alongside Cunningham.
"Part of my game that a lot of people don't see is that I can play off the ball, too. I feel like I can play off the ball or on the ball, and I feel like I could complement Cade a little bit, just with his ability to score the ball," Ivey said.
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.
College basketball analyst Jay Bilas said of Ivey earlier this week, "He’s so dynamic and explosive."
"He’s kind of a combination of the speed and explosiveness of Ja Morant and the size and length of Dwyane Wade. He’s not as powerful as Wade was, at least yet, coming out of Marquette back in 2003, but what an explosive athlete. Incredibly fast in the open floor. He can shoot it. He’s a shot creator.
"His defense will improve or should improve because he’s not been the most focused defender, but there’s not a whole lot to complain about on the offensive end with Jaden Ivey. He’s a star-caliber talent.”
The pick ends weeks of preparation by the Pistons' front office and weeks of speculation of what general manager Troy Weaver would do with the pick. The Pistons had the third-worst record entering the draft lottery, but they fell three spots to No. 5.
Ivey is the fifth first-round pick to be drafted by the Pistons in Weaver's tenure, including Cunningham at No. 1 overall last season. It's the first time the Pistons have had the No. 5 overall in franchise history, and the 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 have a second-round pick, No. 36 overall, after Wednesday's trade with the Portland Trail Blazers, which yielded a pick swap that allowed Detroit to move up from No. 46.
Duke's Paolo Banchero was drafted No. 1 by the Orlando Magic, Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren No. 2 by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Auburn's Jabari Smith No. 3 by the Houston Rockets and Iowa's Keegan Murray No. 4 by the Sacramento Kings.
Earlier in the day, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the order of Smith-Holmgren-Banchero was growing "increasingly firm," but the Magic shook things up with the selection of Banchero at first overall.
