advertisement

Paul talks about Wade's change of teams

Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul is surrounded by the NBA's biggest changes.

One of his best friends is Dwyane Wade, who made the surprising choice to sign with the Chicago Bulls after 13 seasons in Miami. Then one of Paul's division rivals is the Golden State Warriors, which added former MVP Kevin Durant to a 73-win lineup.

During a visit to Chicago on Monday, Paul wasn't worried about either topic.

"I wasn't that surprised (about Wade)," Paul said. "You're talking about one of my best friends. I'm just happy for him. Chicago got not only a great player but a great guy. For him to be coming home, you guys got a treat."

Asked whether Wade sought help in making the decision, Paul made it sound like he was involved every step of the way.

"We talk about everything," Paul said. "It doesn't matter if he asks for our advice, me and LeBron (James) are going to give him our opinion all day long."

When it comes to taking on the Warriors, Paul wasn't ready to concede anything. Paul will have his own chance to make a free-agent decision next summer if he opts out of his Clippers contract.

"It's called free agency. I'm not mad, I'm not upset, anything," he said. "If that's a team, then my job and our team's job is to beat them. It's competition. I've been doing this since I was 4 or 5 years old, so it's all about competing."

Paul mentioned he's also good friends with Bulls guard Jimmy Butler but didn't want to take a shot at predicting how the Bulls' new Wade-Butler-Rajon Rondo lineup will fare.

After the initial U.S. Olympic team practice Monday in Las Vegas, Butler talked about the new lineup with bulls.com.

"Everybody has to sacrifice a little something for the greater betterment of the team," Butler said. "I think we all just want to win. They have done it. I want to do it. So I'll play my role in that.

"But like I tell everyone, I'm going to still be the player I am. I'm not going to take a step backward because I have new players on my team. I'm going to still be aggressive."

Paul was more concerned about the task at hand, which was unveiling a new gymnasium at the Logan Square Boys & Girls Club. Paul's foundation and corporate sponsor State Farm helped fund the renovation. The project included a new floor, glass backboards, scoreboards and dozens of new basketballs.

At last week's ESPY awards, Paul joined Wade, James and Carmelo Anthony to deliver a speech about professional athletes getting involved in their communities. Paul, who grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, isn't afraid to step out of his own community, either.

"It has to be genuine and something you want to do," Paul said about choosing his charitable projects. "This was something that was truly close to my heart in trying to impact the communities, especially the underprivileged areas. We've done this in areas where the kids didn't have Wi-Fi. Or the kids had never seen an iPad or things like that.

"We think about how my son and daughter, they've seen an iPad since Day One. So everything is about trying to level the playing field. I feel as if you grow up on one side of town, it doesn't mean you should have a crazy advantage over someone on the other side of town."

When speaking to kids in the new gym, Paul asked if anyone had questions. A few kids raised their hands, but one teenager in the back was desperate to get Paul's attention. When finally acknowledged, the kid asked if his dad could play Paul one-on-one.

"Aw, it's the off-season," Paul quickly answered, before pointing out that his own father was in the audience. "He could play my dad, though."

• Get the latest Bulls news via Twitter by following @McGrawDHBulls.

Rondo calm, candid in Bulls introduction

Wade admits having tough time with leaving Miami

Felicio shines as Bulls summer squad improves to 2-0

Bulls add another point guard, improve to 3-0 in summer league

Portis leads Bulls into summer league semifinals

Valentine's buzzer-beaters lift Bulls to summer league title

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.