Cleveland Cavaliers: Brandon Paul standing out in NBA Summer League

The Cleveland Cavaliers are still searching for more talent for their roster, but they may not have to look much longer.

The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t have a pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, but there are other ways for them to evaluate talent. The most useful way for them now is in NBA Summer League.

Such is the case with guard Brandon Paul, who is trying to make an NBA roster after spending the past three seasons on the overseas circuit.

Paul is averaging 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game in the Las Vegas Summer League. He is shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and 31.6 percent from three-point range.

Brandon Paul is a big reason the Cleveland Cavaliers are 3-0 in Vegas so far, although he started a bit slow in their first game. He scored just eight points while snagging five rebounds and three steals. The team still made easy work of the Milwaukee Bucks, winning 82-53.

In their second game against the Houston Rockets, Paul had 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Cleveland won the game 95-90 in overtime despite 21 points from Troy Williams.

Paul continued to elevate his play in the Cavaliers’ final game in pool play against the Golden State Warriors. He put up a game-high 21 points along with four rebounds and two assists. It was Paul’s best shooting performance in Vegas, as he went 8-for-12 from the floor and 4-of-7 from three-point range.

The Cavaliers won the game 91-74 to complete an undefeated campaign in Vegas for the preliminary round (3-0).

Paul showed team executives he belonged out there with the likes of center Edy Tavares and point guard Kay Felder, both members of the Cavaliers roster in 2016-17.

After last season’s NBA Finals, it’s no secret the Cavs are in dire need of some offensive assistance, especially off the bench. They tried with DeAndre Liggins last season, but he didn’t seem to work out on the offensive end.

From Europe to the NBA

Brandon Paul is a 6’4″ guard from the University of Illinois. He averaged 12.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game in four seasons with the Fighting Illini from 2010-13.

Paul developed into a full-time starter in his final two seasons, averaging 16.6 points per game in his senior year. He went undrafted in the 2013 NBA Draft. He played with the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Summer League team that offseason but never earned a free agent contract.

Paul went on to sign with a Russian team before returning to the United States and playing in the NBA D-League with the Canton Charge. He was injured as a member of the Charge and subsequently let go during the 2013-14 season.

For the 2014-15 season, Paul signed with Spanish club Joventut Badalona. He averaged 13.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 steals per game for the club in 33 games, starting in 25 of them.

The following offseason, he signed a contract with the Philadelphia 76ers in July 2016, but was cut after four preseason games. He signed with Anadolu Efes in Turkey this past season.

Paul averaged 9.4 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game in 18.2 minutes per game. He started in 17 of the 29 games he appeared in.

Now, Brandon Paul finds himself in an interesting position with the Cavaliers. He’s led their Summer League squad in scoring and hopes it translates into a potential invite to training camp.

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Cleveland could use Paul’s three-point shooting ability. He shot 40.6 percent from three with Anadolu Efes last season. With continued improvement, fans could see Paul in Cleveland’s rotation soon enough.