NBA Draft 2020: Matching top prospects with needs of top lottery teams
By Tim Edmonds
Detroit Pistons: Modern Point Guard — Guard Killian Hayes, Ratiopharm Ulm
After making the playoffs last year, the wheels have inevitably fallen off for the Detroit Pistons this season as they were winners of a mere 20 games before the season’s postponement.
Saddled by the big contracts of Blake Griffin and Tony Snell, they have no option but to kick the tires on a full-blown rebuild this offseason with limited amounts of cheap and cost-controlled talent on their aging roster.
With a resurgent Derrick Rose under contract for one more season, their rebuild should begin with finding a new home for the former MVP this offseason and then replacing him with a high upside prospect — enter 18-year-old French international guard Killian Hayes.
While many may call for the safer pick in Iowa State sophomore guard Tyrese Haliburton to start a rebuild, Detroit should opt for more of a boom-bust prospect as they begin to tear down their expensive, older roster and Hayes is exactly that in a prospect.
Standing 6’5 with a 6’8 inch wingspan, the left-handed point guard has all the tools to make it in the modern NBA and potentially become a star in the right system.
Averaging 12.8 points, 6.2 assists, and 2.3 rebounds a game in limited minutes for Ratiopharm Ulm of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) he’s undoubtedly a long-term project, but given the Pistons position going forward and the large salaries that will hinder them for years to come, an 18-year-old with elite upside is a risk they can afford to take as they kick off what will be a lengthy rebuild.