The Adelaide 36ers seem to have found their replacement for Donald Sloan who was released last week.
Multiple sources are now saying former San Antonio Spurs swingman Brandon Paul has signed a contract with the team with it expected to be announced this week.
Brandon Paul is joining Adelaide 36ers, sources tell @Sportando.
— Emiliano Carchia (@Carchia) February 14, 2021
Brandon Paul is definitely of #EuroLeague material – the situation at #OlympiacosBC was very complicated at the time and under different circumstances he would have had another season there at least.
Huge move by Adelaide. https://t.co/0Vmqp4vPUa
— Sebastian Komianos (@sebfromthecourt) February 14, 2021
Paul, 29, most recently played in China with Zhejiang Chouzhou, where he averaged 10.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, in 11 minutes per game. Those statistics may not be a proper indication of Paul’s talent with the Chinese Basketball League having a limit on how many minutes import players can play.
To compare Paul’s 2018 stint with Zhejiang Chouzhou when there was no minutes restriction, he recorded 40 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals on debut and then backed that up with a 51 point triple-double which included 17 rebounds, 11 assists and four steals.
Undrafted out of Illinois in 2013, Paul bounced between the G-League and Europe (Russia, Spain, and Turkey) before signing a deal with the San Antonio Spurs for the 2017-18 season.
Paul’s best game in the NBA was against the Boston Celtics where he came off the bench to notch up 18 points and 5 rebounds in 30 minutes matching up against Kyrie Irving. Having spent a season learning from Patty Mills in Texas, he no doubt has a little knowledge of Australia and hopefully makes a bigger impact than his predecessor.
In 64 games for the Spurs, Paul averaged 2.3 points and 1.1 rebounds, in 9.0 minutes a game.
Paul’s 208cm wingspan and his explosive athleticism allow him to guard positions one to three. This versatility is expected to complement the current Sixers backcourt of Next Star, Josh Giddey and Sunday Dech nicely.
The 36ers are currently 5-3 on the season and will add Paul just in time for the NBL Cup to begin in Melbourne on February 20.
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
