Gurnee native Paul sticks with it, returns to UC as an NBA player
When he stepped off the San Antonio Spurs team bus Saturday night, it wasn't Brandon Paul's first visit to the United Center. Far from it.
"Yeah, when I was little, I used to wear the Scottie Pippen jersey, my brother used to wear MJ and my younger brother used to wear (Dennis) Rodman," Paul said before playing against the Bulls. "We would dye our hair and my dad would take us to games.
"I've got pictures. I don't know if I want to bring them out right now, but a lot of pictures dating back to those times. It was definitely a big thing growing up, going to Bulls games. We were obviously big fans."
So Paul has been to the United Center as a fan. During his college career at Illinois, he played four regular-season games and one Big Ten tournament at the UC. But it was a little different when the Gurnee native walked into the familiar arena for the first time as an NBA player.
"It's pretty surreal walking into this building, especially all the things I've been through," Paul said. "It means a lot."
What makes Paul's story interesting is four years passed between the time he graduated from Illinois and made his NBA debut with the Spurs.
In the meantime, he played in Russia, Spain and Turkey; Canton, Ohio in the D-League; had three shoulder surgeries; and was a regular at the NBA summer leagues.
Most people who followed his career at Warren High School and Illinois probably gave up on ever seeing Paul in the NBA.
But he didn't.
"I don't think I ever lost sight of it," Paul said. "I knew it was going to be tougher, especially after my third surgery. I think the biggest thing was the mental part, just asking myself why am I still going through the same things over and over again.
"I knew if I was going to stay in Europe, I was going to make a good career over there. But I didn't want to be over there just playing, making money. I wanted to continue to get better. I knew all those games were scouted heavily. Just having that mindset definitely helped me get to this point."
The Spurs signed the 6-foot-4 shooting guard this summer to a guaranteed deal. When the team is healthy, he probably won't play a lot, but coach Gregg Popovich sent Paul onto the floor for a cameo in his hometown.
After spending a few months in San Antonio, Paul has seen why it has been one of the most consistently successful franchises in pro sports.
"Definitely, everyone's just professional from the head coach to the interns to the guys in the locker room," Paul said. "Everyone's on the same page."
Along those lines, Paul got an assist from his brother when it came to Saturday's ticket requests.
"They knew I was going to get a lot of requests, so they kind of did their own thing and got a large amount of discounted tickets," he said. "I've got my brother Cliff to thank for that. It could have been real bad."
WC Bulls trade for BG:
During Saturday's G-League draft, the Hoffman Estates-based Windy City Bulls acquired the rights to former Bulls guard Ben Gordon in a trade. Gordon averaged 15.2 points in 25 games for the Texas Legends last season.
Windy City also traded for a local product in 6-7 Karrington Ward, a Lockport native who played at Eastern Michigan. The team's first-round pick was 6-4 guard Mychal Mulder from Kentucky.