NBA Draft
Miami HEAT select P.J. Hairston at No. 26
Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.
All posts by Alan DraperUpdated15 Oct 2021
With the 26th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, the Miami HEAT drafted NBA D-League guard P.J. Hairston.
Unofficially, the HEAT will trade Hairston to the Charlotte Hornets — in a pending deal that landed Connecticut’s Shabazz Napier (24th) in Miami.
Hairston was suspended indefinitely from North Carolina with legal issues, stemming from a traffic stop, including drug possession charges that were ultimately dropped.
He left the Tar Heels to join the D-League Texas Legends where he averaged 21.77 points a game while shooting 45.3% from the field and 35.8% from three-point range.
The 6-foot-5, 21-year-old guard will help give the Hornets an outside shooter — a hole the team desperately needed filled.
Before his suspension at North Carolina, Hairston averaged 14.6 points a night while shooting 39.6% from three-point range.
Earlier in the night, the Hornets drafted Indiana forward Noah Vonleh, fleshing out a roster with Al Jefferson, Kemba Walker, Gerald Henderson and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
The Hornets may have as much as $18 million in cap space this summer to add to its emerging core.
