The Jaden Ivey situation isn’t settling down.
A day after the Bulls waived Ivey, more details are coming into focus. According to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, Ivey will still receive the full remaining portion of his $10.1 million salary for 2025-26.
That was never guaranteed. Teams can attempt to recover salary in cases involving conduct detrimental to the team. Chicago won’t be going that route here.
Coach Billy Donovan didn’t get into specifics when asked about the decision, but he made the team’s stance clear.
“I think there’s a certain level of standards and expectations that are here,” Donovan said. “We’ve got to all be professional… there’s got to be a high level of respect for one another, and we got to help each other and then be accountable to those standards.”
The backdrop to all of this has been Ivey’s recent activity on Instagram Live, where he made a series of controversial remarks. He went back on again shortly after being waived.
“They’re liars, bro. This is lying,” Ivey said. “They’re lying saying my conduct is detrimental to the team. That’s a lie… All I’m preaching about is Jesus Christ and they waived me.”
According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, concerns about Ivey’s behavior predated the trade that brought him to Chicago. He described locker room frustration and noted that “not one Bulls player was shedding a tear” after the move.
Either way, the split is official. But te noise around it hasn’t gone anywhere.