Killian Hayes has been searching for an opportunity with an NBA team since being released by the Detroit Pistons in 2024. He has found one with the Sacramento Kings.
A league source told the Sacramento Bee on Sunday the Kings have signed Hayes to a two-year contract, confirming a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania. The contract will keep Hayes in Sacramento for the rest of the season with a nonguaranteed team option for next season.
The news came as the Kings prepared to play the Utah Jazz on Sunday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Hayes was expected to start at point guard for the second time in three games after Russell Westbrook was ruled out due to right foot soreness.
Hayes has appeared in 10 games since signing the first of two 10-day contracts with Sacramento on Feb. 23, averaging 3.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 15.3 minutes per game while shooting 26.9% from the field and 20.8% from 3-point range. Teams can sign a player to a maximum of two-10-day deals before they must either sign the player for the remainder of the season or release them.
At 6-foot-5 with a 6-8 wingspan, Hayes has exceptional size and length for the point guard position. He is a strong defender and a proven playmaker with a 2.7-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio over 226 career NBA games, but he has struggled with scoring efficiency, shooting 37.9% from the field and 27.8% from 3-point range.
Hayes, 24, played professionally in France and Germany before the Detroit Pistons selected him with the No. 7 pick in the 2020 NBA draft. Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman and LaMelo Ball were the top three picks in that draft. Hayes was selected ahead of players such as Obi Toppin, Deni Avdija, Devin Vassell, Tyrese Haliburton and Tyrese Maxey.
Hayes appeared in 210 games with 145 starts over four seasons with the Pistons, averaging 8.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 26.1 minutes per game.
The Pistons waived Hayes in February 2024. He appeared in six games on a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets in February 2025. He also had stints with the G League Long Island Nets and Cleveland Charge.
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Jason Anderson is The Sacramento Bee’s Kings beat writer. He is a Sacramento native and a graduate of Fresno State, where he studied journalism and college basketball under the late Jerry Tarkanian.