Detroit Pistons: Was the 2020 Draft a bust for Troy Weaver?
Detroit Pistons: Was the 2020 Draft a bust?
Killian Hayes
I’ve been covering the Detroit Pistons for nearly four years, and in that time, no player has been more polarizing than Killian Hayes.
No matter what I say here, one group is going to be mad, as he has rabid supporters who still think he’s going to be a star, and another group of haters who already think he’s a bust.
The problem with Hayes is that he was taken 7th in that draft, which was obviously way too high, as there were plenty of players taken after him that are already considerably better and at least two of them (Tyrese Haliburton, Cole Anthony) are point guards.
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The Detroit Pistons were hoping to get their franchise point guard here, but as we know, anything outside of the top 3 picks is really a crapshoot. The Pistons missed out on a star, but that doesn’t automatically make Hayes a bust.
Hayes is the worst shooter in the NBA, but he’s also a good passer and defender who is still just 21-years-old. I don’t fall into either of the extreme camps when evaluating Hayes, and to me, he looks like a guy who could be a solid backup point guard in the NBA for years to come and still has potential to be more.
It’s hard not to compare Killian negatively when looking at some of his peers, but in a vacuum, getting a solid backup point guard with the 7th pick is not a disaster. Here are the 7th picks that came in the 10 seasons previous to Killian Hayes:
- 2010-Greg Monroe
- 2011-Bismack Biyombo
- 2012-Harrison Barnes
- 2013-Ben McLemore
- 2014-Julius Randle
- 2015-Emmanuel Mudiay
- 2016- Jamal Murray
- 2017-Lauri Markkannen
- 2018-Wendell Carter Jr.
- 2019-Coby White
As you can see, it’s a mixture of busts, solid role players and a couple of “stars,” with Julius Randle, Jamal Murray and Lauri Markkanen probably the best players. Even these three weren’t great right away, as Randle didn’t make an All-Star team until he was 26 and Markkanen made it this year at age 25.
Not to ride the fence here, but I think you can call Killian a bust with potential at this point, as it is too early to write him off, but he hasn’t done a lot to inspire confidence that he won’t eventually be in the Mudiay/McLemore category.
Verdict: Bust…for now
Next. 7 players the Pistons gave up on too soon. dark