Detroit Pistons: 3 late bloomers who should give hope to Killian Hayes

Detroit Pistons: 3 late bloomers who should give hope to Killian Hayes

Chauncey Billups

Pistons fans are well-aware of Chauncey Billups’ work, as he was a 3-time All-Star with Detroit and the leader of the Goin’ to Work squad that won a title.

But Mr. Big Shot paid his dues before he started collecting All-Star appearances, Finals MVP awards and a championship ring.

After showing promise as a rookie, Billups, who was the 3rd pick in the NBA Draft, had a hard time finding his footing in the league after being traded twice before he was 25 years old.

Billups shot under 40 percent from the field in his first three seasons, though he was always a better 3-point shooter than Hayes. But Chauncey didn’t average even five assists per game until he was 25 years old and didn’t make his first All-Star team until he was 29.

Billups eventually morphed into a great two-way point guard and 3-point shooter, but it would have been easy for the league to give up on him before we really got to see what he had.

These would all represent best-case scenarios for Killian Hayes on the Detroit Pistons, but point guard is the most difficult position to learn and a lot of them really aren’t who they are going to be until at least age 25.

It may not happen for Hayes, and if it does, it could be for a different team, but you can’t write off a 22-year-old point guard just because his shot isn’t there yet.