The Detroit Pistons may have added multiple forwards to the squad for this upcoming NBA season but that doesn't mean they don't have high quality guards in the roster.
One of them is rookie Killian Hayes, who was selected with the No. 7 overall pick by the Pistons in the 2020 NBA Draft.
The 19 year-old will be given the keys to the franchise, as head coach Dwane Casey stated that Hayes will open the season as the starting point guard of Detroit.
He is expected to play over the former NBA MVP Derrick Rose, who was one of the few positive things Detroit got out of last season. The veteran recently stated that he looked forward to being a mentor to Hayes.
“For him, I already talked to him (and) told him that he was the future of a team, and to know that there is no competing,” Rose told Michigan Live prior to training camp. “My job here is to push him and groom him into a great player, and try to get on him in practice as much as possible because in the games he’s a kid, and coming from overseas guys are going to play aggressive on him, so it’s my job to play aggressive on him throughout this whole camp so that when he can get in the game he’ll be ready.”
Prior to the draft the French guard played for the Bundesliga's Ratiopharm Ulm, where he averaged 12.0 points and 5.6 assists per game, while shooting 59% from inside the arc.
Hayes was named MVP of the French U18 league and Jordan Brand Classic international game in New York. He was also named all-tournament team at the FIBA U17 World Cup.