Defensive Reasons - The PJ Hairston Thread

[mrknowitall215]

You guys better temper your expectations of Hairston. Its fairly easy to average 21 a game in the D league, and he only shot 35% from long range. He wont sniff a starting spot, or even beat out Neal for backup duties his rookie year.

I think he could beat out Neal for backup duties, but Clifford probably wouldn't allow it. CDR played better than Neal, but you'd think Neal was superior by the way Clifford trotted them out there based on experience/name recognition rather than production

[Liver_Pooty]

You guys better temper your expectations of Hairston. Its fairly easy to average 21 a game in the D league, and he only shot 35% from long range. He wont sniff a starting spot, or even beat out Neal for backup duties his rookie year.

I think he could beat out Neal for backup duties, but Clifford probably wouldn't allow it. CDR played better than Neal, but you'd think Neal was superior by the way Clifford trotted them out there based on experience/name recognition rather than production

I think CDR and Neal are both better than Hairston right now. Thats not a knock on Hairston by any means as I think he will end up being way better than both of them, but I just cant see him getting big time minutes immediately,

[mrknowitall215]

You guys better temper your expectations of Hairston. Its fairly easy to average 21 a game in the D league, and he only shot 35% from long range. He wont sniff a starting spot, or even beat out Neal for backup duties his rookie year.

I think he could beat out Neal for backup duties, but Clifford probably wouldn't allow it. CDR played better than Neal, but you'd think Neal was superior by the way Clifford trotted them out there based on experience/name recognition rather than production

I think CDR and Neal are both better than Hairston right now. Thats not a knock on Hairston by any means as I think he will end up being way better than both of them, but I just cant see him getting big time minutes immediately,

I don't have a solid foundation on evaluating and judging Hairston since I didn't watch UNC much at all during his years there. I'm just going by what I was told by many on this board. The way how he was explained to me is that he was good enough to be a top-10 pick amid the off-court issues, and he's a possible All-Star caliber player that could be the next James Harden, so with such lofty expectations, I would hope he's a better option than Neal right away

[Liver_Pooty]

I think he could beat out Neal for backup duties, but Clifford probably wouldn't allow it. CDR played better than Neal, but you'd think Neal was superior by the way Clifford trotted them out there based on experience/name recognition rather than production

I think CDR and Neal are both better than Hairston right now. Thats not a knock on Hairston by any means as I think he will end up being way better than both of them, but I just cant see him getting big time minutes immediately,

I don't have a solid foundation on evaluating and judging Hairston since I didn't watch UNC much at all during his years there. I'm just going by what I was told by many on this board. The way how he was explained to me is that he was good enough to be a top-10 pick amid the off-court issues, and he's a possible All-Star caliber player that could be the next James Harden, so with such lofty expectations, I would hope he's a better option than Neal right away

Let me tell you, and if there are any UNC fans on here (im sure there are) chip away. He isn't Harden in his wildest dreams. He might be Harden on the defensive end, but thats where that comparison comes to an end, period. I truly believe he will end up as a really good 6th man who can get buckets off the bench which is fantastic where we drafted him.

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

He can defend, and apparently did in his first few D League games. Then he slacked off. That part of us game honestly doesn't worry me. It the passing that concerns me. My worry is that he will try to score every time he gets the ball.


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[ARHornet]

You guys better temper your expectations of Hairston. Its fairly easy to average 21 a game in the D league, and he only shot 35% from long range. He wont sniff a starting spot, or even beat out Neal for backup duties his rookie year.

I think he could beat out Neal for backup duties, but Clifford probably wouldn't allow it. CDR played better than Neal, but you'd think Neal was superior by the way Clifford trotted them out there based on experience/name recognition rather than production

I think CDR and Neal are both better than Hairston right now. Thats not a knock on Hairston by any means as I think he will end up being way better than both of them, but I just cant see him getting big time minutes immediately,

If Neal is better than Hairston I'm gonna be disappointed.

[BeesWax]

I think he could beat out Neal for backup duties, but Clifford probably wouldn't allow it. CDR played better than Neal, but you'd think Neal was superior by the way Clifford trotted them out there based on experience/name recognition rather than production

I think CDR and Neal are both better than Hairston right now. Thats not a knock on Hairston by any means as I think he will end up being way better than both of them, but I just cant see him getting big time minutes immediately,

If Neal is better than Hairston I'm gonna be disappointed.

He won't be. HE may get more minutes from Clifford for experience reasons but he won't be better than Hairston.

[BeesWax]

I think CDR and Neal are both better than Hairston right now. Thats not a knock on Hairston by any means as I think he will end up being way better than both of them, but I just cant see him getting big time minutes immediately,

I don't have a solid foundation on evaluating and judging Hairston since I didn't watch UNC much at all during his years there. I'm just going by what I was told by many on this board. The way how he was explained to me is that he was good enough to be a top-10 pick amid the off-court issues, and he's a possible All-Star caliber player that could be the next James Harden, so with such lofty expectations, I would hope he's a better option than Neal right away

Let me tell you, and if there are any UNC fans on here (im sure there are) chip away. He isn't Harden in his wildest dreams. He might be Harden on the defensive end, but thats where that comparison comes to an end, period. I truly believe he will end up as a really good 6th man who can get buckets off the bench which is fantastic where we drafted him.

I agree Harden is not in the cards but I think Redd could be. I think he could have a career along the lines of Michael Redd and at 26 that would be a huge steal.

[DY_nasty]

I think he could beat out Neal for backup duties, but Clifford probably wouldn't allow it. CDR played better than Neal, but you'd think Neal was superior by the way Clifford trotted them out there based on experience/name recognition rather than production

I think CDR and Neal are both better than Hairston right now. Thats not a knock on Hairston by any means as I think he will end up being way better than both of them, but I just cant see him getting big time minutes immediately,

If Neal is better than Hairston I'm gonna be disappointed.

They're different kinds of players so much that I wouldn't worry about one cutting into the other's minutes really.

Taylor should be scared though.

[ARHornet]

I think CDR and Neal are both better than Hairston right now. Thats not a knock on Hairston by any means as I think he will end up being way better than both of them, but I just cant see him getting big time minutes immediately,

If Neal is better than Hairston I'm gonna be disappointed.

They're different kinds of players so much that I wouldn't worry about one cutting into the other's minutes really.

Taylor should be scared though.

I didn't expect Taylor to get many minutes in the first place.

[vorbis]

yeah, i think the reason neal got minutes over other players was his skill set more than any overall talent level discrepancy. neal was aggressive on offense and could bang home jumpers. the bobcats didn't have a lot of guys like that last year. hairston definitely has an aggressive mindset on offense. so, i think it's feasible that he thieves some minutes from neal right away. i thought offensive aggressiveness and jumper-confidence was probably the most sorely needed trait from a 2/3 in the draft.

[fatlever]

so... did hairston get arrested last night at his big party in greensboro?

do we need to start a new website called www.didhairstongetarrested.com

[jakenc]

I was talking with a diehard UNC fan (but also generally on of the most level headed sports fans I know) this morning about Hairston and I couldn't believe how much faith he had in PJ's talent. I mentioned that I hope we sign Lance Stephenson and he proceeded to tell me how after a half season in the league Hairston will be able to do everything Stephenson can AND shoot 40% from 3. I said that he's not nearly the passer or ballhandler that Stephenson is but this guy repeatedly said that PJ is underrated in nearly every facet of his game. The UNC fandom is strong

[Liver_Pooty]

I was talking with a diehard UNC fan (but also generally on of the most level headed sports fans I know) this morning about Hairston and I couldn't believe how much faith he had in PJ's talent. I mentioned that I hope we sign Lance Stephenson and he proceeded to tell me how after a half season in the league Hairston will be able to do everything Stephenson can AND shoot 40% from 3. I said that he's not nearly the passer or ballhandler that Stephenson is but this guy repeatedly said that PJ is underrated in nearly every facet of his game. The UNC fandom is strong

Hairston might be able to score a little bit better, but thats about it. Stephenson is a monster rebounder for a guard, and the passing isn't even close.

[BeesWax]

I was talking with a diehard UNC fan (but also generally on of the most level headed sports fans I know) this morning about Hairston and I couldn't believe how much faith he had in PJ's talent. I mentioned that I hope we sign Lance Stephenson and he proceeded to tell me how after a half season in the league Hairston will be able to do everything Stephenson can AND shoot 40% from 3. I said that he's not nearly the passer or ballhandler that Stephenson is but this guy repeatedly said that PJ is underrated in nearly every facet of his game. The UNC fandom is strong

I don't ever think he will be the passer that Lance is but I do think he can do everything else about on par. He can handle the ball pretty well when he has needed to do it and his defense is good when he is locked in a playing. He will take some time to get everything together but he is a very talented player and would have challenged for ACC player of the year this season had he been able to play for UNC.

[tondi123]

Problem with Hairston is his motivation. Sure he CAN be a good/great player. He has the physical tools and the shot to potentially be great. But Hairstons main issues lie above the shoulders. He is prone to loafing, can be a bit of a ball hog and, generally, doesn't play as consistently well as he is capable.

My fear, as a UNC fan who has seen every game he played at UNC, is that as soon as he hits a bit of a rough spot with his shot or get shut down by an NBA defender that it will have a real negative impact on the rest of his game and he becomes a liability on the court.

Maybe he has matured and gotten past some of these issues, but there were several instances in the D-league where he was observed half assing it on defense and generally acting like he didn't give a crap. Of course, the next game he looked like the league MVP. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. I have my fingers crossed.

[JDR720]

Bleacher Report has PJ making the All-Rookie 2nd team

[EwingSweatsALot]

I was talking with a diehard UNC fan (but also generally on of the most level headed sports fans I know) this morning about Hairston and I couldn't believe how much faith he had in PJ's talent. I mentioned that I hope we sign Lance Stephenson and he proceeded to tell me how after a half season in the league Hairston will be able to do everything Stephenson can AND shoot 40% from 3. I said that he's not nearly the passer or ballhandler that Stephenson is but this guy repeatedly said that PJ is underrated in nearly every facet of his game. The UNC fandom is strong

Hairston might be able to score a little bit better, but thats about it. Stephenson is a monster rebounder for a guard, and the passing isn't even close.

And the fact they are complete opposites on defense. Stephenson can just destroy 3 positions on defense.

[HornetJail]

I was talking with a diehard UNC fan (but also generally on of the most level headed sports fans I know) this morning about Hairston and I couldn't believe how much faith he had in PJ's talent. I mentioned that I hope we sign Lance Stephenson and he proceeded to tell me how after a half season in the league Hairston will be able to do everything Stephenson can AND shoot 40% from 3. I said that he's not nearly the passer or ballhandler that Stephenson is but this guy repeatedly said that PJ is underrated in nearly every facet of his game. The UNC fandom is strong

Some UNC fans are like RealGM Raptors fans.

[Lwcasu]

Bleacher Report has PJ making the All-Rookie 2nd team

I saw that article, but that guy basically had random stats for everyone and a lot of people commented that it was a little early to start making predictions - before summer league.