Killian Hayes Set To Make Return Saturday Night
Killian Hayes is finally returning from what was originally feared to be a season-ending hip injury tomorrow night against the New York Knicks, according to The Athletic's James Edwards III.
The 7th overall pick in the NBA draft, and the first pick of new Pistons GM Troy Weaver's tenure, Hayes started all 7 of his career games for Detroit before his injury against the Milwaukee Bucks on January 4th. The 19 year old point guard averaged 4.6 points and 3.6 assists per game on just 27.7% shooting, while playing 21 minutes per contest for the Pistons.
The Pistons backcourt situation has changed significantly since then, both Derrick Rose and Delon Wright are no longer with the team, but head coach Dwane Casey has seemed comfortable leaning on a combination of veterans Dennis Smith Jr, Cory Joseph and fellow rookie Saben Lee in their absence. Despite missing 41 games however, Hayes is expected to contribute as a desperately needed playmaker and hopefully re-enter the starting backcourt as one of the key pieces in Detroit's rebuilding process.