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NBA Draft 2014: P.J. Hairston to work out for Phoenix Suns

By Brad Rowland

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
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 /
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The Phoenix Suns have been one of the more “public” teams with regard to working out potential NBA Draft picks in recent days, and the Ryan McDonough-led front office doesn’t seem to be slowing down. After being linked to both Stanford forward Dwight Powell and NC State forward T.J. Warren this week, the Suns will reportedly hold a workout on Thursday that is headlined by North Carolina swingman P.J. Hairston.


Interest in Hairston isn’t exactly a shock from the Suns, simply because of the system that they run. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard is known as one of the better shooters in the entire draft class, and Phoenix deploys a free-wheeling system under head coach Jeff Hornacek that generates a lot of open looks for their wing players. In addition to being a pure shooter, Hairston has the size to be a starting shooting guard in the league, and if he can improve some of his question marks, any team would be thrilled to acquire him in the middle-to-late portion of the 1st round.

Hairston is the only player with a legitimate 1st-round grade of the group that Phoenix is reportedly bringing in, but with the amount of picks that the Suns possess, they could go in many different directions. At this moment, ESPN is projecting the former UNC guard with the 17th pick to the Boston Celtics, while Draft Express pegs Hairston to land with the 24th pick to the Charlotte Hornets.

It will be interesting to follow Hairston’s track as the draft approaches, but if not for off-court issues that kept him off the UNC roster this season, it would be reasonable to expect P.J. Hairston to land in the lottery.

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