By my own admission I've never been a huge Pistons guy. When it comes to the NBA I'm gonna pull for the Detroit squad no doubt, but factoring in the fact that they haven't been 1% interesting since like 2009, they've made it difficult to care. That said; for the first time really since I can remember the Pistons are... slightly cool? Might be giving them too much credit but there's a little buzz about them and their young core coming into this season, especially after the acquisition of one of the best basketball players to ever do it, Cade Cunningham. Now, even though they're 0-3 and doing their absolute best to make sure, once again, nobody cares as quickly as possible; there has been one aspect of the season that has annoyed the fuck out of me. Annoyed the fuck out of a guy who typically doesn't really care about the Stones and after an 0-3 start cares even less than really not caring. When something like that happens, it is a 100% certifiable fact that whatever is bothering me is next level stupid.
I'm talking Killian Hayes aka The French Phenom. Despite only having played 30(?!?!) games in the NBA and being 20 years old, generations of fans who have done nothing but complain about the Pistons giving up on players too early in their careers, only to see them flourish in other cities couldn't be more ready to kick aside a kid who has ONLY PLAYED 30 GAMES IN THE NBA. Please, read that again. 30 games. A fanbase who's identity is built around constantly bringing up how they can't seem to stop giving away the Khris Middletons of the world because they weren't averaging 20 ppg as a 20 year old. And here we have another 20 year old, high potential guy, who EVERYONE seemingly can't wait to get rid of. Make it make sense, Pistons fans. Either quit bitching about every star Detroit has missed out on, or gifted to other teams over the years, or I don't know... have enough patience to wait more than 30 games before we decide the former number 7 pick is a bum. Could just be me.
What's real sad is the complete irony of a fanbase that's been plagued by the organization's impatience, being impatient with a guy they CANNOT AFFORD TO BE WRONG ABOUT, might not even be the worst part. From where I'm sitting the entire "problem" with Killian is that he hasn't been able to score, and hanging a goose in the season opener was complete ass, no doubt about it. But can we please not forget that Killian was never supposed to be, or advertised a scorer. People acting like this dude was being called the French Kevin Durant when we took him. His whole thing is playing defense, which he's been fucking awesome at in a league where most guards don't think twice about it, and playmaking. He hasn't gotten the chance to run the show as much as I'd like and I'm not sure if that's Dwayne Casey pulling the wrong strings, or if it's Killian being a pussy about it. Both scenarios less than ideal but I'd rather have a dumb dumb head coach than a coward of a point guard. Went through that with Foster Loyer and it did not start, middle, or end well. But we've seen that Killian AS A 20 YEAR OLD is a straight jacket fit for Hannibal Lecture when he wants to be, and has shown flashes of creating offense for others out of thin air. But people want to quit on him because he isn't James Harden. So damn annoying.
And if all of that hasn't convinced you to pump the brakes on him, just look up the names of some guys who weren't 20 ppg guys or All Stars until their 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th years. Big names. Guys who you would be very upset your team let go of because they didn't produce in the first 30 games of their career. There's this dude named Giannis who plays in Milwaukee who didn't do anything of note until his 4th year... imagine the Detroit Pistons getting rid of him because he only averaged 7 points per game in year 2. Imagine. But yeah, let's get rid of Killian before he even plays half a season, what could possibly go wrong.
Paging @SkubaBaby @ co. #Detroit #Pistons #DetroitBasketball #nba #NBA75 #NBATwitterLive pic.twitter.com/ruxbTpx77O
— The Detroiter (@The__Detroiter) October 26, 2021