Detroit Pistons: 3 reasons Killian Hayes will be better than Haliburton

Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes does more to help the team

Per 36 minutes, Hayes averages a full 1.1 assists more than Haliburton. This is not exactly a lot, but Hayes has already shown his swing passes can find each corner. He knows when to keep the ball off the floor and when to toss a bounce pass, and his passes are crisp and allow a shooter extra time to gather a shot.

Hayes has been setting up teammates who are not knocking down shots, so his assist rate will be much higher once he gets a few more shooters around him.

Since Hayes is not yet the scorer that Haliburton is, excelling at passing has allowed him to be a decent player already. His passes are cleaner, sharper, and he can swing across more distance.

Haliburton may appear to be the better player, but he does not play well with others. De’Aaron Fox has been deemed the future of the Kings for a few years now, but when he and Haliburton are on the court together their plus/minus sits at -13. Considering that as soon as next year these two guys will be sharing the court a lot, this is something the Kings need to figure out as soon as possible, otherwise, they’ll have a repeat of Sexland from Cleveland: two skilled guards who both need the ball to succeed, and can’t win games together.

Both players are very young. Haliburton just turned 21 and Hayes is still 19. One has had the spotlight on him all year and is already a star, one is taking more time to get there. When Hayes reaches that point, he could very well be remembered as one of the top players from the 2020 NBA Draft, and his premature label of “bust” will be shed if it hasn’t been already.