The Nets have decided not to re-sign point guard Killian Hayes to a second 10-day deal, sources tell Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link).
Hayes served as the club’s starting point guard across the past five contests. His first contract with Brooklyn expired overnight after Saturday’s game. Lewis suggests that the team’s decision not to retain him suggests that point guard D’Angelo Russell is nearing a comeback. Russell has been on the shelf with an ankle injury since February 20.
Across his six games for Brooklyn, the 6’5″ Hayes averaged 9.0 points, 5.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 0.7 blocks in 27 minutes per night. He posted shooting splits of .419/.381/.833.
Hayes was a highly-touted lottery pick in 2020. Selected at No. 7 by a previous Detroit front office regime, Hayes struggled with his offense throughout his Pistons tenure. He was a free agent throughout the 2024/25 season until his February deal with Brooklyn.
Across 216 career seasons (150 starts) with Detroit and Brooklyn, Hayes has averages of 8.1 PPG, 5.2 APG, and 1.2 SPG.
Sporting a 21-39 record, the Nets are just three games behind the Bulls for the East’s No. 10 seed and a play-in tournament berth. Brooklyn is no doubt prioritizing development over a postseason appearance, so the decision to let Hayes go suggests he’s not part of their long-term plans.
Can we finally have a talk on what the Nets are doing? Those stats are pretty good and his shooting is better.
Yeah, it’s a great question. Jordi has the team playing hard while Marks has been doing what he can to sabotage the team. It’s been a strange szn. I know many Nets fans fans wish they would have tanked harder but it’s far better that Jordi is actually building a winning culture.