Baylor's Cameron Carr Lands In Big City in Recent NBA Mock Draft
The NBA Finals are set to tip off this week with the New York Knicks facing off against the San Antonio Spurs.
For 28 other teams, it’s back to the drawing board, as they try to figure out how to stop Victor Wembanyama, and a Spurs team that looks like it is set up to compete for years to come.
The Baylor Bears had two players who looked destined to be picked in the draft this year, but that number has dwindled to one with last week’s announcement that Tounde Yessoufou will be withdrawing from the draft and transferring to St. John’s to play for Rick Pitino.
With Yessoufou out of the draft, all eyes as it relates to Baylor are on one man. How did Cameron Carr fare in this week’s mock draft from CBS Sports’ Cameron Salerno?
Stock Rising?
Salerno factored in some thoughts on what he would do during this draft cycle, while also projecting what he thinks may happen.
For example, the popular theory is that BYU’s AJ Dybantsa is going to be the top pick for the Washington Wizards. Salerno went another route, tabbing Kansas’ Darryn Peterson as the top pick for the Wizards before working his way down the board.
As the board fell into the back half of the lottery, Salerno ran into the Chicago Bulls, which is where he selected Cameron Carr with their second first round pick.
Chicago’s initial pick in the draft saw them select North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson. After adding some size to their frontcourt, Salerno gave the Bulls some depth in their backcourt by adding Carr, who had been ranked as the second best shooting guard in this year’s draft class.
“After playing just 41 minutes total last season at Tennessee, Carr transferred to Baylor, where he blossomed into the Bears' leading scorer. He averaged 18.9 points on 49.4/37.4/80.1 shooting splits. His offensive upside is worth the swing here for Chicago. It also wouldn't be surprising if he went in the mid- to late teens,” Salerno wrote.
Carr was Baylor’s best player during what was otherwise a disappointing season for the Bears, averaging just a shade under 19 points-per-game.
Carr helped his cause by having a strong showing at the NBA Draft Combine, and there is some smoke that Carr could sneak even higher into the lottery if a team decides they want to take a swing on his upside instead of an older player who has spent more time in college.
Fit in Chicago
The Bulls are in the midst of another re-tool as Billy Donovan and the Bulls mutually parted ways this offseason. As things stand right now, the Bulls do not have a head coach, but Carr has the type of size and scoring ability that makes him a fit in any system that a respective coach would want to implement.
Carr would also get to play on a big stage, as he would try and help get the Bulls back into contention, a place they have not been since Derrick Rose won the league MVP in 2011.
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Jacob Westendorf is a contributing writer for Baylor Bears on SI. He is also a writer covering the Green Bay Packers for Packers on SI. Westendorf graduated from University of Wisconsin-Green Bay where he earned a degree in communication with an emphasis in journalism and mass media. He worked in newspapers in Green Bay and Rockford, Illinois. He also interned at Packer Report for Bill Huber while earning his degree. In 2018, he became a staff writer for PackerReport.com, and a regular contributor on Packer Report's "Pack A Day Podcast." In 2020, he founded the media company Game On Wisconsin. In 2023, he rejoined Packer Central, which is part of Sports Illustrated Media Group.