The first pillar of Troy Weaver's rebuild has fallen. The Pistons have released former seventh overall pick Killian Hayes ahead of Thursday's 3 p.m. trade deadline, per The Athletic.
Hayes was Weaver's first draft pick in Detroit in a class that also featured Isaiah Stewart 16th overall, Saddiq Bey 19th overall and Saben Lee in the second round. Weaver dubbed the rebuild a "restoring" and quickly took to calling them the "Core Four." Four years later, Stewart is the only one standing.
The Pistons gave Hayes every chance to succeed in Detroit, first under Dwane Casey and this season under Monty Williams. It just never clicked for him the way Weaver envisioned when he compared the Frenchman to fellow left-handed European point guard Goran Dracic, an All-Star who had a 15-year NBA career.
In 42 games (31 starts) this season, Hayes averaged 6.9 points and 4.9 assists, slightly below his career numbers. He was never good enough as a ball-handler or creator to overcome the fact that he's been one of the worst shooters in the NBA since he arrived in Detroit. For his career, Hayes has shot 27 percent from three and 38 percent from the floor.
It will haunt Weaver and the Pistons for a long time that five picks after they drafted Hayes, fellow point guard Tyrese Haliburton went to the Kings, who later traded him to the Pacers for All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis. Haliburton is now a two-time All-Star himself who's averaging 22.5 points and an NBA-best 11.5 assists per game and shooting 40 percent from three this season.
Hayes, 22, has been released from the final season of his four-year, $24 million rookie contract. The Pacers signed Haliburton to a five-year, $260 million extension last summer.
The Pistons are also reportedly waiving guard Joe Harris and forward Danuel House, the latter of whom they acquired Thursday from the 76ers in a trade that netted them a 2024 second-round pick.
Hayes, Harris and House had to be moved out to accommodate the four players the Pistons picked up from the Knicks on Thursday in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks in a deal that also brought Detroit two future second-round picks.