The Detroit Pistons have a legacy of failed draft picks sprinkled around the NBA. One of the biggest busts, point guard Killian Hayes, may have just reached the end of his NBA rope after being waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Pistons at first looked to many like they had pulled off a draft day heist. The year was 2020, and while the COVID-19 pandemic had pushed back that year's NBA Draft, it proceeded as usual in November. Detroit held the No. 7 pick, and they used it on French point guard Killian Hayes.
Multiple draft analysts had Hayes ranked No. 1 on their board, and the Pistons snagged him at No. 7. It was a coup, and gave them a big guard to build their offense around. The French teenager had been productive playing in Europe and came over immediately to begin his NBA career.
Killian Hayes was a draft bust
All of the optimism for what Hayes could bring to the franchise fell flat on its face. Things never clicked for Hayes in Detroit. He spent four seasons with the franchise, starting a number of games as the future star of the franchise, and did essentially nothing with the opportunity. In 210 games with the Pistons -- including 145 starts -- he averaged just 8.1 points, 5.2 assists and shot a frigid 38.2 percent from the field and 27.7 percent from 3-point range.
It's one thing to completely whiff on a draft pick -- and the Pistons' reluctance to move on early makes sense given how slowly some point guard prospects develop. What makes the entire situation worse is that the 2020 NBA Draft was the perfect place to find a guard: the Pistons just failed entirely in the one they chose. Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxey, Immanuel Quickley and Desmond Bane all went later in the first round. Even second-rounder Tre Jones has become an established rotation guard.
Detroit picked the wrong one and set itself up to be terrible for the next few seasons. The franchise used that time to right the ship, nailing future draft picks to build one of the more exciting young cores in the league. Hayes, however, has been wholly unable to turn the next page.
He signed with the Brooklyn Nets last season and bounced between Brooklyn and their G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets. He showed some signs of life for the tanking Nets down the stretch of last season, and in the G League he averaged 20.7 points per game and shot 41.7 percent from 3-point range.
That performance earned him a training camp invitation this summer, but it didn't yield a guaranteed roster spot on any of the league's 30 teams. One positive stretch of play in the G League wasn't enough to impress the league's general managers. He signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers but was always a longshot to make the roster; indeed, they just waived him and will send him to the G League for the year.
That may be the end of the line for Hayes. The Cavaliers are highly unlikely to call him up during the season given their depth and championship aspirations. They won't be wasting minutes to take a flier on a failed draft pick, especially not at point guard. It's a longshot for another team to want Hayes to come on board during the year.
The Pistons picked the wrong guy in 2020, and even with all of his talent and pedigree, the end of the line has come for Killian Hayes.