The Detroit Pistons are a hot mess from the front office to the roster to the coaching staff.
Things were supposed to be better this season, especially after the hiring of Monty Williams, an experienced winner who has had success turning around terrible teams.
But there were problems with this marriage from the beginning, as GM Troy Weaver backed a different candidate for coach, as did Vice Chairman Arn Tellum, who were both vetoed by owner Tom Gores, who wanted Williams at all costs.
And it did cost. The Pistons made Williams the richest coach in NBA history (that has since been eclipsed), which may have not been the smartest move considering Monty didn't seem enthused about taking the job until the Brink's truck rolled up outside of his house.
But that didn't stop Williams from getting involved in personnel decisions right away. According to James Edwards III of The Athletic (Subscription), Williams lobbied to keep Killian Hayes this summer when the Pistons were considering trading him after selecting yet another guard in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft.
It makes you wonder who will be calling the shots at the deadline and how much influence Monty Williams will have over future moves by Troy Weaver, who is fighting for his job after four years of futility and losing.
Coaches should have some input in their rosters, but too much can be a disaster, as we saw with Stan Van Gundy and we are seeing this season after the Pistons inexplicably kept Killian Hayes because of Williams.
Killian Hayes is still on a rookie deal, but he's been a costly player for the Detroit Pistons.
The Original Sin: Drafting Killian Hayes
The biggest mistake of Troy Weaver's career so far was drafting Killian Hayes over Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton is already a star and All-Star starter, while Hayes could be out of the NBA next season.
You can't kill GMs too much for draft picks, as it is a crapshoot, but this was an either/or situation as the Pistons were desperate for a point guard and had reportedly narrowed it down to these two players.
Hayes became perhaps the worst of what I call the Holy Trinity of Draft Misses for the Pistons, and you have to wonder what this team might look like if Weaver had made the right call.
But the cost of Killian Hayes didn't stop there.
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Killian Hayes has cost the Detroit Pistons games
Both Dwane Casey and Monty Williams were put in difficult situations with Killian Hayes, as injuries and the ineffectiveness of other guards forced them to use him.
There's also the fact that he was the 7th pick in the draft, so each time he had a couple of good games, it seemed as if he might have finally tapped into the talent that the Pistons saw in him.
He's a big guard who takes care of the ball and can defend, things the Pistons have desperately needed over the last 3+ seasons, so it makes sense that both coaches leaned on him at times. It's not like they had a lot of other options.
But as good as Killian has been in some areas, he's been atrocious in others, namely shooting the ball. The NBA is no longer a place for guards who can't shoot and Hayes has arguably been the worst shooter in the NBA so far in his career.
Not only does he not make shots, he barely takes them, which makes the Pistons play 4-on-5 on offense when the other team doesn't even have to defend Hayes anywhere on the floor.
Defenses sag off and dare him to shoot, which has killed spacing at times and undoubtedly cost the Pistons both possessions and close games that they might have won had Hayes been any kind of threat to score.
Coaches are always going to be enamored with guards who defend and don't turn it over, but the continued insistence on playing Hayes, especially this season, has not helped the Detroit Pistons.
The Detroit Pistons kept drafting guards
For about as long as I can remember, the Detroit Pistons have needed wings and power forwards, yet they have drafted three guards since taking Killian Hayes in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Cade Cunningham was a consensus number-one pick, so you can't question that one too much, but if Hayes had lived up to the hype or shown anything in his rookie season, who knows if the Pistons take Cade here.
Same with Jaden Ivey, whose selection made little sense if Hayes was any good, but he wasn't, so they kept adding guards in a league dominated by wings, forwards and skilled big men.
The Pistons traded up to get Marcus Sasser and traded for Monte Morris when they already had three guards on the roster, moves they wouldn't have had to make if Hayes were living up to his promise as a top-10 pick. He didn't have to be a star, but the Pistons had no faith he could even be the backup, so they added Sasser and Hayes.
If Hayes wasn't a bust, maybe the Pistons take Bennedict Mathurin instead of Jaden Ivey. You can argue about which player is better, but Mathurin is the more obvious fit with Cade Cunningham.
If Hayes were any good, would the Pistons have traded up to get yet another guard when there were still good forwards on the board?
Even if they thought Sasser was worth trading up for, Williams' insistence on playing Hayes so far this season has cost the rookie reps and development time even though he's been better than Hayes in every measurable way.
It's easy to blame the coach for this one, as he not only lobbied for Hayes but kept running him out there game after game, which is hopefully mercifully over after Hayes finally caught a DNP-CD against Cleveland.
The Killian Hayes era appears to be over in Detroit, and it was nothing short of a disaster, as he was not only bad, but the Pistons refused to admit he was a sunk cost and kept him (and kept playing him) to the detriment of both the roster and the development of other guards.