The Detroit Pistons are on their way to having a lottery pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Here’s a look at one of the top prospects, Killian Hayes.
Blake Griffin has his second knee surgery in eight months and may not return to the Detroit Pistons this season, it’s safe to say that its more likely that they’re looking at a higher pick in the 2020 NBA Draft rather than a spot in the playoffs. Killian Hayes is a name that has to be considered.
Standing at 6-foot-5 with a 6-7 wingspan, the 18-year-old guard has found himself mocked in the top 10 of almost every mock draft you can find. Playing this year in EuroCup for Ratiopharm Ulm he’s currently averaging 12.8 points and 6.2 assists per game on 45.5% shooting which includes a 39% mark from 3-point range. On top of the offensive stats, Hayes is averaging 1.5 steals a game, showing off his quick hands in the passing lanes or picking the pockets of the opposition.
The Detroit Pistons should take notice.
Although this class has been widely regarded as a weaker class, it is loaded with guard prospects that the Pistons need to look into, and Hayes is among the best of them. His extremely young age of 18 matches right alongside the timeline of the Pistons’ other young prospect Sekou Doumbouya another plus happens to be that Hayes speaks fluent French which is small sure, but a rebuilding team can use every chemistry boost they can get.
Hayes was born in Florida, but his family moved back to France where his dad DeRon had been playing professional basketball in the Pro A league. He would spend his school years in France playing with kids one or two divisions ahead of himself (In France they divide developmental basketball in two-year increments) and would come back to America and spend his summers in Florida playing pickup in courts around Orlando or Lakeland.
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When asked where he feels like he’s from, Hayes responded: “I feel like I’m from both places, I try to bring the best of France and America with me each time I’m on the court”.
After spending his summers in America, he started to notice and be envious of all the attention that American high school prospects were getting, he wanted that to be him. He asked his dad if he could start playing high school basketball here in America but his father insisted that wasn’t the best move for him and that he should prepare by playing pro basketball in France instead.
The work in France was slowly starting to pay off, in August 2017 he was a part of the French FIBA Europe under-16 championships in which he help lead team France to a gold medal and earning himself the MVP award by putting up 16.6 points, 7 rebounds and 5.1 assists on top of 2.7 steals per game.
Fast forward to now and his name is up and down all scouting and mock draft reports, turning pro at 16 he followed a similar path Doumbouya did except he’s been playing with a basketball as long as he can remember.