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Killian Hayes has emerged as the leading candidate to start at point guard this season for the Detroit Pistons as the seventh overall pick has had a strong training camp run so far.
Of course, he arrives not as a typical rookie player given his prior professional experience overseas. Hayes averaged 11.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals in 20 games last season with ratiopharm Ulm in Germany and has also played in France.
Hayes has seemingly picked up the playbook rather quickly and has already impressed some of his teammates with his playmaking. On Monday, Pistons head coach Dwane Casey said he even reminds him of Jason Kidd, according to Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press.
Dwane Casey on who he would compare Killian Hayes to: "I'm not saying he's Jason Kidd, but he's got that point guard size. Big, strong sturdy body … he's an old-school type point guard."
— Omari Sankofa II (@omarisankofa) December 7, 2020
The 19-year-old is listed at 6-foot-5 while Kidd was 6-foot-4 throughout his career in the NBA. Pistons guard Derrick Rose joked over the weekend that he feels like a dinosaur being 6-foot-1 since so many of the young up-and-coming guards are getting taller now, like Hayes.
Rose called Hayes the future of the Pistons given his skillset and believes he will have a bright future. Hayes certainly has a long way to go to match Kidd on the court but he certainly has the physical tools in place given his size.
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