Killian Hayes, the young French point guard who became the No. 7 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft last November, has suffered a torn labrum in his hip and the Pistons are currently determining a course forward that may or may not involve surgery, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Detroit Pistons rookie Killian Hayes has suffered a labral tear in his hip, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Hayes, the No. 7 pick in the NBA Draft, sustained the injury on a drive to the basket in Milwaukee on Monday.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 6, 2021
Having missed Summer League and making an enormous leap from the German League to the NBA, this development time was quite important for Hayes. The Pistons installed him as the starting point guard even with Derrick Rose also on the roster and other veterans around who would otherwise have set Detroit up to compete for a playoff spot. That was a testament to their investment in Hayes, but now it threatens to be a lost season for the 19-year-old.
Most often, labral tears involve the shoulder for basketball players, such as Paul George at the end of the 2018-19 season. But the labrum is simply the cartilage structure in a bone socket, whether that be the shoulder or hip. Surgery to repair the tear could force Hayes to miss several months.
In the meantime, the Pistons will continue to chart a course forward around a core of Jerami Grant, Sekou Doumbouya, and their other two first-round picks from 2020, Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart.
