Killian Hayes – G – Ratiopharm Ulm

Pros:

• Excellent shot creator. He has a variety of step-back, side-step jumpers and creates space extremely well off the dribble. 

• Incredible passer. He can find big guys down low on the pick-and-roll, dump it off to cutters when he’s attacking, or make Manu-like kick passes to the corner.

• Nifty and crafty finisher who displays excellent touch around the hoop.

• Isn’t incredibly consistent yet but he shot 39% from three on four attempts per game in his last season in the Euroleague.

• Shot 91% from the foul line in that same year. FT% is huge for indicating future three point shooting percentages.

• Great off-ball defender with superb instincts and plays with great effort.

Cons:

• I have faith in his jump shot panning out but it’s still not incredibly consistent.

• Extremely turnover prone out of the pick-and-roll. He tends to try to force plays that aren’t there and still doesn’t have an elite handle.

• Very left hand dominant, almost to a fault. There are some passes he can’t make because of that and it makes finishing around the basket way more difficult than it needs to be. 

• Below-average when defending one-on-one due to his lack of athleticism, lateral quickness, and food speed

Prospect Overview

Killian Hayes is a prospect that I am very high on. I think his ability to create his own offense off the dribble, set up his teammates for easy buckets, and play hard on the defensive side of the ball makes him one of the top prospects in this draft. He has all the makings of a lead guard in the NBA as a bucket generator and someone you can effectively run an offense through. He’s got some holes in his game but he’s one of the more safe gambles in this draft. Whether he’s an All-NBA level player or simply just a good starter, I have faith that whoever drafts Killian Hayes in the 2020 NBA Draft will be pleasantly surprised.

Player Comparison: Manu Ginobili

• Thomas Stapleton