Phoenix Suns: Options With The No. 27 Pick

Apr 7, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Shabazz Napier (13) holds the national championship trophy after defeating the Kentucky Wildcats in the championship game of the Final Four in the 2014 NCAA Mens Division I Championship tournament at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports /

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P.J. Hairston (North Carolina):
14. PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.3 SPG, 43.1 FG%, 39.6 3P%, 27.1 PER

Dec 18, 2013; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Suspended North Carolina Tar Heels guard P.J. Hairston (center) watches his team warm up prior to the second half against the Texas Longhorns at the Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center. Texas won 86-83. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /

The problem with Hairston isn’t that he’s not NBA-ready; in the D-League, he averaged 21.8 points per game. It’s not that he can’t shoot, since Hairston shot 39.6 percent from 3-point range in 2012-13 at North Carolina on 6.6 attempts per game. The problem is the six inches between his ears. Any time a professional athlete (or an athlete who will likely go pro in the near future) screws up off the court, I shake my head. If you’re getting paid millions of dollars to play a GAME, you’re No. 1 job is to not f**k it up. Hairston took that joke to whole new levels.

In the span of 10 weeks, Hairston had multiple run-ins with the law for speeding, speeding in a convicted felon’s car, and speeding in a convicted felon’s car with weed and a handgun in the car…with no driver’s license. It doesn’t take a ton of analysis to point out that Hairston isn’t the most stable prospect the Suns organization has ever seen. But as a talented, NBA-ready shooting guard who can light it up from deep, Hairston would fit in well with the Suns’ offense and who knows? Maybe a stable environment where he can immediately contribute off the bench would keep him out of trouble too.

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