Ex-Lakers Star Has Wild Advice for Jaden Ivey After Anti-Gay Slurs

Getty

Jaden Ivey #31 of the Chicago Bulls goes to the basket as Ben Saraf #77 of the Brooklyn Nets defends in the first half at Barclays Center on February 09, 2026 in New York City.

Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Nick Young is convinced that Jaden Ivey would have to come out as homosexual to save his NBA career.

Young made the comments after Ivey was waived by the Bulls on Monday for making inflammatory remarks about the LGBTQ community, not to mention bizarrely going after Stephen Curry and questioning the Warriors star’s commitment to Christianity.

“You’re done in the NBA,” Young told Ivey via an IG Live post.

“Your best bet now is just be gay… tell them you’re gay.

“Because you’re done. You talked about Steph Curry… God’s favorite child.”

Young was a teammate of Curry during the 2017-18 season when the Warriors won their second consecutive NBA championship.

What Ivey Said About Stephen Curry

Shortly after being waved by the Bulls, Ivey called out Curry for allegedly not being a model Christian, as he had not truly “surrendered” to God.

“That’s why you got Steph Curry, who’s not even surrendered, and y’all think he’s a Christian,” Ivey said on IG Live.

“Y’all believe he’s a Christian because he wrote Philippians 4:13. Y’all think he’s a Christian. He cursing just like the world.”

Jaden Ivey Waived By Bulls

In the same video, Ivey, who played only five games for Chicago after being traded by the Detroit Pistons in February, pushed back against the idea that his social media behavior has been “detrimental” to the Bulls franchise.

“They said your conduct has been detrimental to the team. I haven’t even been with the team because I’ve been rehabbing,” Ivey said. “So how is my conduct detrimental to the team? What have I done to detriment? Did I say “you suck” (to the players)?

“That would be detrimental to the team if I’m saying the players suck. We supposed to be teammates. We’re supposed to be on the same team, right? We’re supposed to be passing to each other, right?”

Meanwhile, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said that while he and the Bulls organization respect people from “different backgrounds,” they don’t condone attacks against other beliefs or communities.

“There’s a certain level of expectations and standards that are here,” Donovan told told the media, via ESPN’s Jamal Collier. 

“Everybody comes with their own personal experiences, right? But we have to all be professional, there has to be a high level of respect for one another, and we’ve got to help each other and be accountable to those standards.”

Ivey, a former No. 5 overall pick, was originally slated to be a restricted free agent this summer. However, he will now be an unrestricted free agent after being waived by the Bulls. it’s unknown if any teams will show interest in the 24-year-old amid his remarks.

The young guard is the son of Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Niele Ivey. The latter has yet to break her silence on her son’s comments or exit from the Bulls.

Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan