The Brisbane Bullets have landed another coup ahead of their return to the NBL, signing former Chicago Bulls big man Cameron Bairstow.
Part of the Boomers squad that will head to Argentina on Wednesday ahead of the Rio Olympics, Bairstow played two seasons with the Bulls but was recently traded to the Detroit Pistons and released by the NBA side last week.
Bairstow, 25, is a Brisbane product who was a Bullets fan as a kid and said he was excited at the prospect of helping re-establish his hometown NBL franchise after a seven-year absence from the competition.
"I remember growing up watching this team. To be able to come back here and get this team going again was something that definitely appealed to me," he said.
The 206cm Bairstow said he returns to Brisbane a vastly improved player after working under former Bulls Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah for two years.
He already has a strong understanding with Bullets and Boomers coach Andrej Lemanis and his offensive and defensive patterns thanks to their national team associations.
Lemanis admitted it will be tough to fit Bairstow in the same starting five as high-profile recruits Daniel Kickert (208cm) and Tom Jervis (211cm).
"You can't start everybody," he said. "But every successful team understands that over the course of 40 minutes, can you sustain a level of play? With the talent we have available I'm confident we can."
Bairstow is the ninth addition to Brisbane's roster, leaving the team with one vacancy to fill.
Lemanis said he is chasing an American import guard but was "nowhere near" finding the right man.
"My experience is the longer you wait, the better value you end up getting for your money," he said.
