The 2020 NBA Draft will be an important event for teams to build for their future. Here is the Killian Hayes 2020 NBA Draft Profile.
Background
Position: Point Guard
Size: 6-foot-4, 216 pounds
Country: France
Class: N/A
Hayes is one of the youngest players in the draft as an 18-year-old. Despite his youth, he has still played well at the pro level and is one of the best prospects in the 2020 NBA Draft class.
At 16 years old, Hayes started playing with Cholet’s senior team. He averaged just 2.2 points per game, but got his feet wet with experience. In his second season with Cholet, Hayes upped his game with 7.2 points per game. This past season, he joined ratiopharm Ulm, where he averaged 12.8 points and 6.2 assists per game. Hayes also has great experience with the French National Team as he has won a gold medal, silver medal and won the MVP of the 2017 FIBA U16 European Championship.
He has been able to prove himself at a young age playing professionally, which makes him a truly unique prospect. Hayes will be one of the first point guards selected in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Strengths
He has a great build for a point guard at 6-foot-4 and 216 pounds. While he is young, he is more well-built than older prospects. Other prospects will need to focus on weight training, but it will be less of an issue for Hayes. He should be able to handle the grind and physicality of an NBA schedule. His strength helps him guard and finish at the basket well.
Hayes is great at finishing in the paint. While he goes into the paint against much bigger players, he has the strength to finish over them. He can get crafty and find ways to finish around defenders as well. His ability to dunk shouldn’t be bragged about, but it comes in handy. If around the basket is clogged up, Hayes can finish with floaters, which will keep defenses on their toes.
With some development, Hayes will be able to run an NBA offense. He has good ball-handling skills and changes his pace well. His dribbling allows him to create his own shots, which includes a great stepback, but he also can penetrate a defense and create for others. He has great vision and can find the open man.
Weaknesses
His outside shot will need some work in order to stretch out defenses. He shot 29 percent from deep last season. The NBA 3-point line is deeper and he will be facing tougher defenders. His form looks solid enough that he should be able to improve if he works on it. If he is able to develop a deep shot he could end up being the best player from this draft class.
He has good effort on defense, which is a good sign, but he can be beaten. Players with a quick first step can get by him. Hayes won’t register many steals or blocks, which limits his ability to have a big impact on defense. He may be a player that turns out to be a solid defender, but will likely never be elite in this area.
Limiting turnovers will be key for Hayes to develop into a point guard who is trusted with the keys to the offense. He averaged 3.3 turnovers per game in the Eurocup last year. Hayes had so many assists that his ratio came out to about 2-1, but that many turnovers in 26 minutes played is too many. Some maturity and getting used to the speed of the NBA will be key for Hayes.
Projected Draft Range: Lottery Pick
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