The Chicago Bulls say they were thrilled to land Brisbane-born power forward Cameron Bairstow in last week’s NBA Draft.
The No.49 second round pick was on show in Chicago on Tuesday sporting his new #41 jersey alongside lottery pick Doug McDermott, originally selected by Nuggets with the 11th pick and later traded to the Bulls in a deal involving later selections.
Coming off a four-year career for the NCAA’s University of New Mexico, Bairstow wasn’t considered a lock to be drafted, but did more than enough to impress Bulls scouts over the past season.
“Actually his coach (Craig Neal) … came to a pre-season camp to see (2013 pick Tony Snell) and he had told us about the great strides that he thought (Bairstow) was making and that he thought he was going to have a breakout year this season,” general manager Gar Forman said of his two new acquisition.
“So then our scouting staff got on that right away and followed him throughout the year.”
The 23-year-old is about to find out that the life of a second round pick is far from an easy one. Bairstow isn’t guaranteed a spot on the Bulls roster just yet- in fact he doesn’t even have his own tag on the official Bulls homepage– and will have to contend with a number of other established players at his position. But his huge frame, ability to score inside and rebound the basketball will make him a strong chance to make the final team in October.
“He’s got a skill level, he’s a good passer,” Forman added. “He can shoot the 15 footer. And again, he’s a guy that’s going to fit the culture that’s been created here.”
The 2.06m forward averaged 20 points and seven rebounds per game as a senior for New Mexico last season.
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