The Detroit Pistons are having a great season as long as you had the right expectations.
They are losing games but doing it without “tanking” in the traditional sense in that they are playing hard and have mostly had entertaining, competitive games.
They are also getting plenty of reps for their rookies and young players, which is exactly what you want in a rebuild.
The only dark lining has been the injury to Killian Hayes, who suffered a hip injury after just seven games and may be out for he season. Or maybe not.
Troy Weaver's optimism about what the 8-week update on Killian Hayes coming next week will entail is apparent: "He's been working diligently and he looks great. We're excited to have him join the team here shortly."
— Keith Langlois (@Keith_Langlois) March 9, 2021
It now sounds like it is possible that Killian Hayes will be back at some point during the regular season, which is somewhat surprising given the severity and type of injury he suffered.
Fans are eager to see the rookie play after he was taken 7th overall, especially with so many other rookies, including their own trio of Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Saben Lee, playing so well.
But the real question is not if Hayes COULD return from injury but if he SHOULD.
Detroit Pistons: What type of injury does Killian Hayes have?
Here is a good explanation of the type of injury Hayes has and the most common path to recovery.
After being examined by multiple doctors, Hayes and his team chose rehab over surgery, which is the normal course of action, as surgery is more invasive and potentially dangerous and also takes much longer to recover.
However, there are some benefits to the surgery as well, which is why bringing Hayes back is a risk. There are definitely pros and cons to taking this risk, so let’s take a look.
Detroit Pistons: Should Killian Hayes come back this season?
Pro: Obviously the biggest pro to Killian Hayes returning is that he will get some valuable reps and minutes in his rookie season.
No one wants to miss an entire season at any point of their career, but it is particularly painful to lose these minutes that could come with no pressure, as the Detroit Pistons don’t really care about winning at this point.
Hayes can come back in games that don’t matter, play as many or as few minutes as they deem appropriate and build some positive momentum heading into the offseason.
Hayes has reportedly been working hard to get back and hasn’t played much meaningful basketball because of COVID and his injury, so it would be nice to get him some reps, even if it is only for a few games.
Con: This is the type of injury that can be re-aggravated very easily. This is what happened to Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics, who had the same injury that Hayes has.
After suffering the injury early in the season, the Celtics elected to bring Thomas back too soon and he re-injured himself, essentially ending his season and lengthening the rehab.
This is the risk of choosing rehab over surgery, as surgery does more to fix the problem that caused the injury in the first place while rehab just gives the injury time to heal.
Hayes could return, hurt himself again and have to get the surgery anyway, or at the very least could require the entire offseason or more to rehab.
This seems like an awfully big risk just for some run in a handful of meaningless games.
Detroit Pistons: Should Killian Hayes return from injury this season?
Pro: One of the worst parts of Hayes’ injury is that he is not getting a chance to build chemistry and rapport with his fellow rookie and young players.
This is especially crucial for a guy who is thought to be the point guard of the future and will be asked to be a leader.
This brings up another point: are we sure Hayes is a point guard?
If the Detroit Pistons were to land a top pick in the 2021 Draft, many of the best players are point guards, so it’s possible Hayes could be moved off the ball or even to the wing.
The Detroit Pistons would love to have some more film to evaluate before the draft so they have some idea of how they might employ Hayes in different situations with potentially different teammates.
Bringing him back this season would allow him to start to build that chemistry with the rest of the young core and to get a better idea of what he will be in the NBA.
Con: Although there have been cases where players fully recovered from the same injury (LaMarcus Aldridge is one), there is a chance that this could plague him for the rest of his career, especially after opting out of the surgery.
If Hayes were to get injured again, he might never be the same, much like Isaiah Thomas, who was never the same guy after he re-injured his hip. Thomas is still trying to find his way back into an NBA rotation years later, which is exactly what the Detroit Pistons want to avoid.
Maybe I am just being paranoid or super cautious, but it just doesn’t seem to be worth the risk. I get that fans are impatient and that the Detroit Pistons want to get this rebuild going but another setback to Hayes would be more devastating to that progress than him missing the rest of this season.
The Detroit Pistons have a tough decision to make and I am sure it will be one guided by medical advice, but they can’t ignore that bringing Hayes back carries a fair amount of risk.