NBL22: How the 36ers saved Bairstow

It’s late October and Bairstow was chilling in his Brisbane apartment, taking some time out from his busy off-season training schedule as he recovered from a hip injury that prematurely ended his 2020-21 season with the Illawarra Hawks.

He had parted ways with the Hawks only months earlier, but remained determined to find another team despite the doubters suggesting his hoops days were done.

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Bairstow understood the reality of where he stood in the pecking order due to his injury, and that he had to be patient to secure another team.

Just when he was starting to give up hope, his phone rang.

It was new Adelaide 36ers coach CJ Bruton – a man Bairstow knew well from his time with Brisbane when Bruton was a Bullets assistant coach. CJ offered him a chance to train and trial with the 36ers – an opportunity he jumped at given the circumstances.

“I was just happy to play basketball again,” said Bairstow, who played 36 NBA games for the Chicago Bulls between 2014 and 2016.

“Unfortunately, that was just the position I was in and there were a lot of question marks after my injury, so I had to just do my bit to get healthy and in shape.

“I was always going to keep playing – I just had to bide my time and wait until I was essentially the last option available.

“That is just how it turned out. Everyone has their lists that they go through, and the reality was that I was a lot lower on that list, so I had to wait and hope that teams struck out on what they were looking for.”

Fortunately for Bairstow, Adelaide were keen on securing his services. The 36ers wanted to see how his body performed and pulled up at training before offering him a contract.

Bairstow did his part at training and a deal with Adelaide was done within a week.

“I was happy, especially because recency bias is huge,” he said.

“Everyone last impression of me was being injured, so being able to see me running around and playing at this level was definitely what they needed to see.

“After that Adelaide were happy to sign me, so it worked out well.”

Bairstow has enjoyed reconnecting with Bruton and believes he is the man to help him regain his finest form from his NBA and Boomers past.

“Knowing CJ and his style was one of the biggest things,” he said.

“He knew what I’d been through injury wise, including the entire picture and how that would look on the court and in practice. That definitely helps, and he was comfortable in taking that risk, so I was very thankful to CJ for the opportunity and believing in me.”

Thus far, Adelaide’s faith in Bairstow has been justified.

The big man has been a solid contributor off the bench.

He was particularly impressive in Thursday’s win over the JackJumpers in Tasmania, finishing with nine points and adding five rebounds and two assists.

Bairstow has high hopes for success in Adelaide this season.

“It has been a really good experience so far,” he said.

“We have a great group of guys, and it is just a matter of continuing to improve every day.

“We’ve still got plenty of opportunity to learn, grow and improve because we’ve got a very talented team with a mixture of young guys and veterans.

“I think we have the chance to be really good, just in terms of the level of talent and our ability to grow.”

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