On Tuesday afternoon, the Long Island Nets traded returning player rights for Killian Hayes to the Cleveland Charge in exchange for a first and a second round pick of the 2026 NBA G League Draft. Hayes was
a pivotal member of the Long Island roster in the 2024-25 season, and now his path back to the NBA finds itself in his next stop, Cleveland.
Hayes appeared in 33 NBA G League Tip-Off Tournament and regular-season games for Long Island last season. He averaged 17.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 2.0 steals in 32.9 minutes per contest. The French native was selected seventh overall by Detroit in the 2020 NBA Draft and was originally acquired by Long Island as an affiliate player from the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Hayes came into the 2024-25 season with a story that was similar to Dariq Whitehead’s. Hayes was battling injuries and looking for his redemption after being unceremoniously dumped by the Detroit Pistons the year prior. Hayes was horrific at 3-point shooting. He finished last in effective shooting during his first three years in the NBA.
Despite all of that, the Nets gave him a chance, and by the end of his first season in the G-League, he became a very solid shooter. He landed 37.1% of his 3-pointers on Long Island and 38.1% in his short time with Brooklyn. This was a number he had never hit in his three and a half years with Detroit.
Perhaps Hayes’ best showing with the Long Island team came in their final home game in Montreal when he notched a career-high 38 points. This included another personal best of eight three-pointers, something unimaginable in Detroit. It was a clear sign that Hayes was developing well with Long Island, fixing his shot in the process.
“Putting in the work,” Hayes told ND about how his shot has been developing. “Just being confident at the end of the day. I like how my shot is feeling. I like my chances when I shoot the ball. That’s one of the reasons I started going in, just to have that intent whenever I shoot.”
Hayes set out to fix his shot during his short time on Long Island, and he did just that. Mfon Udofia, the Long Island Nets coach does have a knack for developing talents like Noah Clowney, Drew Timme, Jalen Wilson, and others. It was no different with Hayes.
“It’s part of his development,” said Udofia of Hayes’ shooting improvement. “Of course, when you come to the G-League, you have things you’d like to work on, and you want to be selfish about. It’s what we’re here for.”
“Our coaching staff has been doing a really good job with Killian; he’s been putting the work in each and every day, and you can see it paying off. To see him have success has been great because he puts so much work in, and he’s been working really hard.”
While it remains to be seen how Hayes does in Cleveland, he told ND that getting back to the league was still his “ultimate goal.” Hayes was one of Long Island’s best players of the season, and it’s very easy to see why. Not only was he a scoring machine, but he was able to get his teammates involved and be a fantastic playmaker. Now, he finds himself in Cleveland as he looks to get another shot at redemption in the NBA. Indeed, he passed up on a number of Euroleague offers.
