advertisement

Gurnee native Brandon Paul signs with NBA's Spurs

Gurnee native Brandon Paul never gave up on his NBA dream, even though he wasn't drafted when he left the University of Illinois in 2013.

He finally arrived on Friday, signing a deal with the San Antonio Spurs. Paul made it official by posting a photo of himself in a Spurs uniform on his Instagram account.

"It's not every day you get a call from the best coach in the game (Gregg Popovich) welcoming you to the best organization," Paul wrote. "Thank you for taking a chance on the kid. God is amazing. Let's get to work!"

Paul, 26, is a 6-4 shooting guard who turned heads at NBA summer leagues. First, he averaged 16.5 points in four games for Dallas in the Orlando league. Then he joined Cleveland's squad in the Las Vegas league and was averaging 14.3 points when he got the call from the Spurs.

In 2009 at Warren High School, Paul was named Illinois Mr. Basketball as well as honorary captain of the Daily Herald's Lake County all-area team. After a solid career at Illinois, he spent a year in Russia, one season in the D-League, played in Spain and spent last season with Anadolu Efes in the Turkish League.

Details of Paul's contract with the Spurs weren't available and it's likely for the minimum salary. But there was a report that it does include guaranteed money, which would mean the Spurs expect him to stick around for the regular season.

• Twitter@McGrawDHBulls

Istanbul latest stop as Gurnee's Brandon Paul chases his NBA dream

Mavericks rally to win Orlando Summer League title

Bulls can't shoot straight in second summer loss

Holiday willing to take on challenge of Bulls' rebuild

Blakeney plays well, but summer Bulls lose again

Cutting down on timeouts should be step in right direction for NBA

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.