Last year at this time the Detroit Pistons were mired in the worst season in franchise history.
There was plenty of blame to go around, from the front office that never tried to put talent around its young players, to the coach who never showed up, to the players who didn’t make the leaps we expected.
Let’s be real, most of the blame resides with the first two, as Troy Weaver put a lousy roster around his young core and Monty Williams deployed them in ways that often boggled the mind.
The most egregious of which was his decision to inexplicably keep Killian Hayes in the starting lineup over Jaden Ivey.
Hayes was the target of ridicule and frustration for his entire career with the Pistons, as he never lived up to his draft status or developed in the ways we hoped. His staunchest supporters always pointed to his “elite” passing and defense but neither of those were good enough to make up for his shooting, which was among the league’s worst every year he was in the league.
Not all of this is on Killian if we are being fair, as he never had a good environment in which to improve the things he needed to and was often put in roles that he was not prepared to shoulder.
Hayes is still only 23-years-old, so has time to turn his career around which is what he’ll be trying to do with the tanking Brooklyn Nets.
Killian Hayes gets another shot
Hayes recently signed a 10-day contract with the Nets after playing most of the season for their G-League affiliate, where he did well, averaging 21 points and over eight assists per game.
The Brooklyn Nets are finalizing a 10-day contract with former No. 7 overall pick Killian Hayes, agent Yann Balikouzou tells ESPN. Hayes went to training camp in Brooklyn and has played for Nets' Long Island NBA G League, averaging 21 points and 8.3 assists. pic.twitter.com/vMpg9dnIuR
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 19, 2025
The standout numbers are his shooting percentages, as Hayes has hit 49.5 percent of his shots overall in the G-League and just over 40 percent from long range on over five attempts per game.
We saw Hayes go on runs like this in the NBA, when he would start to put it together and look like the guy they thought they were getting when they chose him 7th in the Draft.
The Nets are clearly just looking for some short-term depth and are tanking away, so what better player to bring up than the guy who was the tank commander for some of the worst teams in recent NBA history?
I joke, but Hayes had a 50-160 record in his time with the Pistons, so he knows a thing or two about how to bag better lottery odds.
In all seriousness, I wish Hayes nothing but success and hope his G-League promise can transfer to the NBA.