Lower than 4 years after the Detroit Pistons chosen Killian Hayes with the No. 7 decide within the 2020 NBA Draft, the franchise is waiving the guard, per league sources.
Sources inform me and @ShamsCharania that The Pistons are waiving Killian Hayes, the No. 7 decide in 2020.
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) February 8, 2024
Hayes was the primary decide underneath common supervisor Troy Weaver, who chosen Hayes over Tyrese Halliburton.
The Pistons gave Hayes a number of alternatives and sources to develop as a lead guard. Regardless of his poor capturing numbers, he has been a daily starter or been in Detroit’s rotation.
After final season, Hayes’ third 12 months, the Pistons had been open to shifting on from him. Nevertheless, no offers materialized and new head coach Monty Williams wished to attempt to develop the younger guard underneath his watch. Hayes and Detroit had been far off on extension talks this previous offseason and that’s when Hayes’ camp expressed curiosity in a brand new alternative, per league sources. However there have been nonetheless no takers.
Hayes’ downfall is his lack of scoring. He has had good moments defensively, is an effective passer and doesn’t flip the ball over. Nevertheless, per Basketball Reference, Hayes’ 45.5 true capturing proportion is the fourth-worst in NBA historical past (min. 5,300 profession minutes performed).
At 6 foot 5 with a sturdy body, Hayes didn’t take many photographs on the rim. Roughly solely 10 p.c of his profession field-goal makes an attempt have come inside 0-to-3 ft from the basket. Moreover, Hayes has by no means cracked 30 p.c from 3 and by no means averaged greater than 1.5 free-throw makes an attempt per recreation in a season.
On the finish of the day, it’s laborious to be a lead guard in immediately’s NBA with these struggles.
The divorce permits Hayes to get a recent begin and for the Pistons to offer extra minutes to Marcus Sasser, the third guard Detroit drafted within the first spherical after taking Hayes in 2020.
Why Hayes didn’t reach Detroit
Hayes simply didn’t add a lot to his recreation. His scoring by no means improved nor did his aggressiveness in attacking the basket commonly.
Sadly for Hayes, the next drafts labored out for the Pistons as they took Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, two on-ball creators with greater upside.
Hayes’ lack of ability to shoot the ball persistently made him a tricky pairing for both Cunningham or Ivey in the long run. — James Edwards III, Pistons employees author
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(Photograph: Nic Antaya / Getty Photos)
