Caris LeVert has been around the block during his time in the NBA. During his nine-year career, he has played for five teams, including nearly a four-year stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs traded LeVert to the Atlanta Hawks to acquire De’Andre Hunter at last season’s trade deadline, and LeVert only played 26 games with the club.
He signed with the Detroit Pistons this past offseason, reuniting with his former head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. LeVert was expected to be a leader for Detroit’s reserve group, helping take the pressure off of All-NBA guard Cade Cunningham.
The Pistons have had a ton of success this season, as they are currently the first seed in the East, but it has been in spite of LeVert.
Caris LeVert is playing the worst basketball of his career with Detroit
The knock on LeVert has always been his lack of consistency. He has a maddening play style, where if he’s on, it is very entertaining basketball. However, in the games he’s off, it becomes a hard watch.
This was especially true during his time with the Cavs, where LeVert would sometimes take over games with his offense, but would wilt in the biggest moments. This is especially true for the 2024 playoffs, where he was largely a non-factor, but Cleveland does not win Game 7 against Orlando without him.
The inconsistencies have followed him to Detroit, where LeVert is having the worst season of his career by far. He’s averaging career-lows in points, field-goal percentage, and free-throw percentage. During the month of March, he is averaging just five points per game, shooting 29 percent from the field, and a woeful 14 percent from 3-point range.
The Pistons are also worse off with him on the floor, as lineups with LeVert have a -0.7 net rating this season. He was brought in to help alleviate the pressure off of Cunningham for bench lineups, but that has not happened.
LeVert has always been an inconsistent player for his entire career, but this season it’s been worse than it ever has been. Bickerstaff does have an affinity for LeVert, so he will likely give him a chance to get out of his funk.
At the same time though, how much time will he be given? Detroit is gearing up for a potential deep playoff run and the guard rotation needs to be figured out. The Pistons cannot afford to rely on LeVert if he is going to continue to produce at this level.