Atlanta Hawks NBA Draft Prospect Profile: Killian Hayes

Killian Hayes is one prospect that could go anywhere from inside the top three to just outside the lottery. Could the Atlanta Hawks take a chance on him?

Yet another draft profile, this time we’re looking at the 18-year-old combo guard from France… Killian Hayes. The Atlanta Hawks are currently slotted to receive the fourth overall pick in 2020 NBA Draft and considering the volatility around where people have Hayes, it could definitely be a possibility that the Hawks take him that high.

Killian Hayes is a 6’4 guard with a smooth left-handed game that has garnered comparisons to D’Angelo Russell and James Harden. He’s not likely to be as talented as Russell or Harden in my opinion, however, his style of play is quite similar.

This season, Hayes played 10 games for the Ratiopharm Ulm in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), which is the top league in Germany. Throughout these 10 games Hayes averaged 12.8 points, 6.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game on shooting splits of .455/.390/.909. These are incredible numbers for an 18-year-old.

Hayes is a super talented offensive player and flashes potential to be a high-end scorer in the NBA. Potentially the most exciting part of Hayes’ game is that considering how talented he already is, he is still so raw and has a lot of room to grow on both ends of the floor.

He certainly has the ability to be a lead guard for a team as he has the playmaking ability to keep his teammates involved while also having the ability to get his own shot off the dribble. As mentioned, Hayes shot 39 percent from three this past season, which will certainly benefit any team he lands at because he’ll be able to play both on and off the ball.

While Killian Hayes is an incredibly talented prospect, he doesn’t go without his flaws.

The biggest flaw in Killian’s game is his inconsistency on defense. His somewhat lacking lateral quickness could prevent him from being a really good defender at the next level. This could potentially hurt the chances of the Hawks wanting to take Hayes. Ideally, they would like to pair Trae Young with a better defender in the backcourt.

Hayes will certainly be an interesting prospect to watch on draft night as there’s almost no telling where he might land. It will be interesting to see the discrepancies between every teams draft boards due to the lack of consensus in this years NBA Draft.

Considering the fact that the Hawks were one of the worst defensive teams in the league and already have their point guard of the future, Hayes doesn’t seem like the most ideal fit. Unless the Hawks just want to take the best prospect available and feel Hayes is it, that is the only scenario that makes sense for the Hawks to take him.