Summer League 2022 - Make or break for Killian? Which Pistons should attend?

[bstein14]

Last summer going into summer league there was a ton of hype on this board because of Cade, as well as the excitement of seeing the 2nd year guys. But going into the summer league it was also reported by Pistons beat writers to be a "very important summer league for Sekou". He was the 3rd year "summer league vet" and someone the staff wanted to see take a step forward. He had a few ok moments, but was largely outplayed by most of the rest of the team including guys like Luka Garza, Saben Lee, Pickett, etc. Not long after, Weaver decided to move on from Sekou who has since been with a few other teams before ultimately finding himself out of the league.

It feels like Killian might have himself in a similar situation this year. Is this a make or break summer league for Killian? I'm assuming guys like Stew, Cade, and Bey won't be in the summer league and this will be a big chance for Killian to go out and prove himself. Weaver has a $7 million decision to make on Killian for his 4th year team option within the next few months... it seems like this summer league might be crucial for Killian.

I think you also have guys like Saben Lee, Luka Garza, and Pickett all likely needing solid showings to possibly keep their spots on the roster as we're already fairly full.

Summer League starts July 7th and ends July 17th.

[edmunder_prc]

I dont think 3rd year players usually go to summer league.

Bey played last year after being a starter as a rookie and even that was a little odd and he clearly looked like a vet out there.

Having Killian play in his 3rd year is basically saying: hey you suck but we really hope you can put some thing together, that would be great kid, thanks!

[Kalamazoo317]

Summer League is very rarely make or break. It's certainly not for Killian. The *regular season* next year might be, though.

[FloridaMan78]

Summer League is very rarely make or break. It's certainly not for Killian. The *regular season* next year might be, though.

Weaver will have to decide if they want to exercise his option for the fourth year for 7 mil by October so it could be a deciding factor. If he shows no improvement or regresses you’d have to think about it at the very least.

Little chance he doesn’t IMO. 7 mil isn’t that much and wouldn’t be to hard to move to a rebuilding team that wants to take a shot on him.

[LaSheed]

Yah im 100% against him even playing in the summer league.

He's got to prove himself against guys in the NBA. Not so much guys trying to make the final spot on a roster.

[FloridaMan78]

Yah im 100% against him even playing in the summer league.

He's got to prove himself against guys in the NBA. Not so much guys trying to make the final spot on a roster.

So I assume you’ve seen enough of Killian to say he’s earned his final year of his contract for 7 mil since he won’t play again before that, right?

[Moses ShamMoses]

Casey has brought up killian basically being equivalent to a rookie playing in 82 games. I think he's treated like a year 2 guy and he plays. Its not like he couldn't use the run.

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[zeebneeb]

Bsteins Hayes obsession.

Cannot wait until he's traded, breaks out on a different team.

[bstein14]

Bsteins Hayes obsession.

Cannot wait until he's traded, breaks out on a different team.

Just a thread to mix it up a bit from all the draft/FA/trade talk. I also can't see a trade being likely because he has no value at the moment other than a salary filler in a deal... its more of a question as to whether we try him for year 4 or let him become a FA after 3 seasons to have more cap flexibility next year.

I'm still rooting for him to make a big jump so he isn't a wasted pick. I do think this could be a big summer league for him. What kind of growth he has from the end of last season to summer league this year is likely going to be telling of what type of work he is putting in.

Would be thrilled if he ends up being a good backup for us. At this moment though, it seems hard to see him as a better use of $7.5 million next summer than having an extra $7.5 million in cap space.

If we end up using all of our cap space this summer and we extend Grant... it could be the difference between having just MLE money or having nearly $20 million to spend on another starter level player.

[chrbal]

Assuming they don’t get cut for someone else; Lee, Edwards, Garza, Key, Livers, and Pickett.

Whatever draft picks and undrafted rookies we wind up with.

Hayes can show up if he wants to get some work in.

Cade and his teammate entourage (Hayes and livers if they’re not playing and Stewart) will be there for support.

Cheick Diallo because he seems good for the Cruise.

And finally Deividas Sirvydis because we don’t seem to be able to get rid of him.

[LaSheed]

Yah im 100% against him even playing in the summer league.

He's got to prove himself against guys in the NBA. Not so much guys trying to make the final spot on a roster.

So I assume you’ve seen enough of Killian to say he’s earned his final year of his contract for 7 mil since he won’t play again before that, right?

Uh no? Why play him in a completely pointless scrimmage risking injury?

I will say that he showed me enough down the stretch to not play in the summer league.

[Cowology]

I do not think Hayes will be worth $7 mil but I still expect us to pick it up. The difference between him and somebody like Sekou is that Hayes has already demonstrated NBA level attributes. He plays good D, is a solid rebounder and the best passer on our team. He showed a semi-decent ability to finish when he's able to get to his left. It's actually pretty easy to look at him and go "Damn, if only he could shoot he'd be the perfect compliment to Cade." That's enough to pick up the option.

The flip side is that his offense isn't just bad, it's historically bad. The makes the idea of him ever actually becoming that ideal fit pretty hard to fathom. But if he can at least knock down a corner 3 with consistency then he'll be able to get minutes.

Stewart is an interesting wrinkle that is also worth talking about. Cade/Hayes/Stewart was a disaster offensively, but if Stew continues his late season shooting then it becomes a lot more palpable. He shot 54% 3pt post All-Star break. He wasn't taking a lot of them, but it wasn't an insignificant sample size either - he was 11/18 (.611) over our last 8 games. Obviously he's not going to continue shooting that well, but I expect him to take 3-4 a game next season. Maybe more. People are sleeping on this but it's going to help open up some driving lanes for Cade & Hayes. I'll even be a homer and say Stewart is going to get some MIP consideration.

As for who I want to see in SL... mostly Livers, Pickett & Key. I was really impressed by what these guys did down the stretch. Obviously whoever we draft.

[Southern Piston]

I wouldn’t risk it with Hayes, he could get hurt, if he could magically take two steps forward offensively, it would be a bigger game changer this season than the draft pick. Possibly.

[mattao313]

I wouldn't even want him to play the guy is injury prone rather him prove himself in preseason and the regular season.

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[tmorgan]

I wanna see my guy Livers light some fools up in SL.

[FloridaMan78]

I wouldn't even want him to play the guy is injury prone rather him prove himself in preseason and the regular season.

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Thats the thing, Weaver has to decide to pick up his option before the season.

[mattao313]

I wouldn't even want him to play the guy is injury prone rather him prove himself in preseason and the regular season.

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Thats the thing, Weaver has to decide to pick up his option before the season.

I think they pick up his option. Next season is his prove it year, if he doesn't make huge strides next season I don't think he's a piston after that.

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[BDM22]

Summer League means almost nothing for Hayes. It'll be how he starts the season.

[Manocad]

I expect the team will pick up Hayes' option for a fourth year, let him walk/use him as trade filler if he doesn't produce, he won't play in the summer league, and I'm not terribly interested in who does unless the Pistons draft Sharpe. I've seen plenty of Ivey and Murray.

[flow]

As others have said, summer league is not typically a make or break proposition. That being said, he will likely play, and the organization will be expecting stand-out performances from him.

Hayes
Lee
Stewart (maybe)
Edwards
Livers
Garza
Koprivica
Pickett
Key
Rookies
signees