D-League Profiles: Malik Hairston
by Jon L on May 7, 2009
Sorry for disappearing yesterday. Job stuff. You don't want to know. But I'm back today, and ready to talk about Malik Hairston. Hairston is listed at 6'6", 220 pounds, and while he's listed in various places as a guard-forward, he's really more of a stocky shooting guard. He's a very good rebounder for his position, and while he doesn't shoot a ton of threes, he does that well, too. Hairston is younger than the other guys we've profiled so far (he's 22), so there's less to cover and this won't be as unbearably long as everything else I write (I'm just kidding. It's going to be long anyway).
How he got here
Malik Hairston was a high school all-American in Detroit, where he played alongside fellow D-Leaguer Joe Crawford. Hairston then went to the University of Oregon, where he started all 27 games and showed his combination of skills, leading the Ducks in scoring in seven games and rebounding in seven games. He became the team's leading scorer his sop re year at 15 points a game and their second-leading rebounder.
In his junior year Hairston suffered a series of injuries, though he was still able to appear in 27 games. His scoring dipped that year to just over 11 points a game, though his rebounding improved to six a game and his three-point and field goal percentages rose as well. He scored 1,000 points as a junior, becoming the 10th Oregon player to do so. Move over, Blair Rasmussen! Oregon went to the NCAA tournament that year, making it to the Elite Eight. Hairston set an Oregon tournament record with 11 rebounds in the Sweet Sixteen. That last game, though, impressed some folks, as he scored 18 points despite being guarded by Florida's Joakim Noah and Al Horford. Draft Express had this to say:
"Hairston is a superb slasher, capable of breaking down a defense in a variety of ways. He utilizes a fantastic midrange jumper, which will keep defenders just honest enough for him to get a step to the basket on a slashing move. Hairston does a great job of recognizing what the defense is giving him, and taking advantage of it. He is far from explosive, but makes up for it with a patient style of play that makes him a great teammate."
During his senior year, Hairston was able to maintain his improved shooting and brought his scoring back up to 16 points a game, though his rebounding went back down slightly. His free throw shooting jumped way up as well, though it still wasn't great for a guard/forward at 73.2 percent. And here's a fun fact: Hairston graduated with a degree in political science, just like me!
Hairston had a solid pre-draft camp, showing good shooting mechanics, though the description about his game that came up the most was "good, not great." The positive in that is that there are a lot of things he's good at - shooting, rebounding, passing. A lot of observers game him some benefit of the doubt, though, as he's a smart player and he was still just 21 after graduating.
The Phoenix Suns selected Hairston midway through the second round of the 2008 draft with a pick they acquired from the Cavaliers (for Milt Palacio...there's a name I hadn't heard in awhile), but Hairston soon was traded to San Antonio for, uh, Goran Dragic. The Spurs stay winning. Hairston was assigned to the Austin Toros at the beginning of the season. A look at how it went after the jump.
D-League play
Hairston had an up-and-down start to the year, scoring 33 points on 12 shots against Tulsa (he shot 19-20 from the free throw line) with seven rebounds and six assists, but followed that up with nine points on 14 shots against Erie. Despite his occasional early stuggles he was still a mostly efficient shooter. In December he scored 25 points on 11 shots against Colorado, 16 points on seven shots against Albuquerque, and 22 points on 11 shots against Rio Grande Valley.
That trend continued in January, when Hairston had one of his best games of the season, scoring 43 points on 23 shots against Colorado, including 2-3 from behind the arc and 11-13 from the free throw line, along with eight rebounds, six assists and three blocks. The one downside was that Hairston showed a propensity to turn the ball over and get into foul trouble. He had seven games with at least five fouls in December and January, and nine games in that same timeframe with at least four turnovers.
The Spurs called Hairston up at the end of January, and he appeared in 15 games for them. His playing time was a bit all over the place, but he played more than ten minutes in seven of those games. Four of those were in the last five, so it appeared as if San Antonio was getting a better look at what they had. But, Hairston went back to Austin, where he tore it up again. The Spurs released him on April 8, though, in order to sign Toros teammate Marcus Williams.
After sitting out a game (because he was no longer a Spurs assignee and hadn't been signed to a Toros contract yet), Hairston took whatever frustration he may have felt and used it on the court, scoring a combined 83 points in back-to-back games against Rio Grande Valley. He also had a great pair of games in the playoffs, including scoring 34 points on 22 shots (and making four of his six threes) with six rebounds and seven assists in the first round.
Overall outlook
Frankly, I'd be surprised if the Spurs don't sign Hairston again next year. They have only 11 players under contract for 2009-10 at the moment, plus Marcus Williams. Whether he plays in the D-League will depend in part on what they do with Williams and Ian Mahinmi, but there's a lot to like about Hairston. He clearly can score, and as mentioned in the beginning (and throughout) he's a good rebounder for his position. He also showed he has some passing ability, and while I haven't mentioned his defense at all, he's a good (not great) defender (of course), good enough to hopefully satisfy Gregg Popovich and the rest of the Spurs coaches. San Antonio will probably need to retool their roster at some point in the future after relying on crusty veterans for so long (neither Bruce Bowen nor Michael Finley has much, if anything, left), and there's a good chance Hairston will be part of the resulting "youth movement."
http://www.ridiculousupside.com/2009...malik-hairston
I just thought Malik "Bubba" (follow the link and tell me he doesn't look like a "Bubba") Hairston deserved a little love, since it's often forgotten what the Spurs do potentially have in their cupboard.
most of us hope so..
we desperately need youth around our big 3, since that has been the downfall of our team..our best bet with the current state of the team is to look for low-cost/high potential moves, and guys like Hairston/Gist should be the route IMO..
Agreed.
, every once in awhile you roll the dice on a talented, low-cost, young player and you find youself a real gem.(ala Jack) I think Hairston, Gist, and maybe a Brown, Young, etc.-type player (if they're fortunate enough to land) are the type of players worth rolling the dice on.
"Hairston is a superb slasher, capable of breaking down a defense in a variety of ways. He utilizes a fantastic midrange jumper, which will keep defenders just honest enough for him to get a step to the basket on a slashing move. Hairston does a great job of recognizing what the defense is giving him, and taking advantage of it. He is far from explosive, but makes up for it with a patient style of play that makes him a great teammate."
It's really just speculation on my part, but I've got to wonder how much the transformation of his physique impacted his game or caused him to at least adjust last year.
I've been pretty adamant about his ability to shoot that midrange shot, and have felt a good amount of his lack of success was sporadic and/or limited opportunities, but maybe the weight loss and improved explosiveness played a part as well?
I'm really looking forward to seeing how Hairston's progressed and if he's managed to keep his weight down, or better yet, even improved upon his physique from last year.
As many others have said...he is probably better than any prospect we will pick up in the draft. There is no good reason why we don't bring him back next season.
I agree with that, and the fact that he knows the system already gives him an advantage over a young acquisition that we would make..
this team needs role players badly, and we won't be able to make moves for big names..so the best bet is to use the MLE on a more proven player, and just roll the dice on Hairston/Gist/Ian and hope for the best..
I think the spurs should draft a few sfs and then have them compete over a roster spot during summer league and training camp along with hairston, williams, and gist. The mle should be going towards a big or another sf but the more compe ion the better.
+ 1 x 1000
Vaughn was essentially a wasted roster spot
hairtson could be like a ariza if improves his putside shooting he could guard the oppinsing teams best sg or sf
while we have maybe a sam young or danny green guard the next best offensive maker
Hairston suddenly becomes that much more valuable to the Spurs now that they can throw RJ at some of the taller scorers that might give him trouble. I'm really hoping to see three picks from a single draft playing from the Spurs.
Hairston suddenly becomes that much more valuable to the Spurs now that they can throw RJ at some of the taller scorers that might give him trouble. I'm really hoping to see three picks from a single draft playing from the Spurs.
That draft is looking better and better by the day.
Hill- I've got complete faith in and high hopes for.
Hairston- I've been a fan of since Oregon and has done nothing to dissuade me, thus far.
Gist- has great potential to be a versatile, high-energy, rotation player.
I'm not sure how much better the Spurs could have done with a late first and a couple of second-rounders...
There's really no chance Hairston isn't going to be a relevant player, we got him from the Suns..whoever they give away ends up being good..you have to remember that Steve Kerr is a mole working for the Spurs..
I agree that Hairston's going to be relevant, but the Spurs don't have any claim to him right now. The options that are better than he is should sort themselves out in the next few days.
Deng, Rondo, and Fernandez couldn't have possibly been of any use to them, either.
The Spurs did cut him, but hopefully them picking up his contract (thus, guaranteeing his salary) carries a little weight and has him still feeling a part of the plan.
hairston for the spurs roster
I'd honestly be surprised if he isn't on an NBA roster next year..hopefully it's ours..I don't mean "rotation" or anything, but 12-man roster..
The Spurs had better be on the phone with him right now. Any weaknesses he might have been perceived to have are gone now because there's someone to do those jobs. This is shaping up to be a rather competent team for San Antonio.
Especially if Finley ops out. But even so I still rather be giving him a chance over Finely using up those developing minutes for other players.
hairston>finley
If we can get rid of Finley, I don't see why Hairston shouldn't get a chance to be in the rotation. With Manu and RJ we already have veterans. Finley is a class guy but, I think it's better to develop Hairston. Having said that, I still expect Finley to play more minutes than he should next year. If he's on the roster, then he's playing until proven otherwise.
But with Hairston, Hill, possibly McClinton, and even Gist seeing time on the wing, it's going to get crowded.
I think we can assume that there is going to be some serious compe ion in the SL in a few weeks..
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