2020 NBA draft profile: International prospect Killian Hayes
NBA draft profile: Killian Hayes’ weaknesses
While Killian Hayes has the potential to be one of the most well-rounded point guards in the league, he’s still rough around the edges and has a lot of room for improvement.
While passing is one of his strong suits, sometimes he can be too confident in his passing ability, forcing plays that aren’t there, leading to a 24.7 percent turnover rate.
Hayes is not very comfortable going to his right, playing a very left-hand dominant game. When defenses take away his left force him to his right (especially in pick and roll sets), he tends to kill the dribble.
When the defense hedges the screen and forces him right, he stops for a pull-up jump shot or picks up his dribble and tries to find an open man, forcing a reckless pass leading to a turnover.
He also needs to improve his off-ball movement and do a better job finding the open space on the floor. Sometimes it seems as if Hayes is so used to having the ball in his hands, he doesn’t know how to play without it.
With his size and his inefficient shooting from downtown, Hayes will probably see a lot of time at the shooting guard position, so this should be a point of emphasis for him leading up to the draft.
Hayes is not a great 3-point shooter, but he demonstrated in the 2019-2020 Eurocup tournament that he’s capable of knocking down shots from behind the arc. In 10 games, Hayes shot 39.0 percent from downtown making 16 of his 42 3-point attempts.
Hayes uses an array of moves to get to the basket with ease when he wants to. The problem is Hayes isn’t aggressive enough and doesn’t look for his own shot nearly as often he should.
Normally you would say this isn’t a bad thing because he’s a point guard, but by being aggressive and looking for his own shot, Hayes will create even more open looks for his teammates.
Though he is a solid defender, Hayes tends to lose focus while on defense. He also has a terrible habit of playing defense with his hands instead of his feet, putting himself in foul trouble as a result.
As he builds strength, his size and length will allow him to defend multiple positions and keep the NBA’s speedier, more athletic guards in front of him.