Detroit Pistons rookie Killian Hayes has faced struggles to start his NBA career. Now, the 7th overall pick in this year’s draft has new adversity to overcome.

On Tuesday morning, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Hayes, 19, suffered a labral tear in his hip. He suffered the injury during the Pistons’ loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.  

Detroit Pistons rookie Killian Hayes has suffered a labral tear in his hip, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Hayes, the No. 7 pick in the NBA Draft, sustained the injury on a drive to the basket in Milwaukee on Monday.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 6, 2021

Around the 10:50 mark of the third quarter, Hayes tried to stop Bucks’ guard Jrue Holiday from driving to the rim for an easy bucket. That’s when he fell to the ground awkwardly, suffering the non-contact injury.

The recovery time for a labral tear is from 4-6 months, which would essentially mean a season-ending injury in this case.

Despite Hayes not having the best start to his rookie campaign, this is a significant blow for the Pistons. 

Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports is reporting that Hayes could return in 4-6 weeks if he doesn’t require surgery.

How will the Pistons address their point guard hole?

Now that they’re down a point guard, fans should expect to see Derrick Rose assume the starting point guard role. However, once Josh Jackson returns from his ankle injury, it’s a possibility he’ll take on the starting shooting guard role with Delon Wright taking over the starting point guard role also.

This scenario would allow the Pistons to keep Derrick Rose as their sixth-man and not put too much wear and tear on his body. 

With Hayes out, the Pistons could give Saben Lee some playing time also. 

The Pistons drafted Lee this year with the 38th overall pick from Vanderbilt. In his final season playing for the Commodores, Lee averaged 18.6 points while shooting 48% from the field. His three-point shooting percentage, however, left much to be desired. Lee shot a woeful 32% from beyond the arc. 

Fortunately for Lee, Pistons head coach Dwane Casey will be there to guide him along the way. Casey has shown he has no problem giving younger players their chance(s) to make mistakes and learn. He will also reward those players with more minutes if they make the most of their playing time. Isaiah Stewart is proof of that. 

Contact Kory Woods at kory@woodwardsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @koryewoods.