It took 13 years, but Chicago native Kendall Gill finally fulfilled his boyhood dream Wednesday when he signed a one-year, $1.07million contract to play for his beloved hometown Bulls.

The Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks and his most recent team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, also made offers to the 35-year-old former Rich Central and Illinois standout.

''But I knew I wanted to play here all along,'' said Gill, a 6-5, 215-pound shooting guard. ''So it really didn't matter once the Bulls expressed interest. There are only three uniforms that I ever wanted to wear in my basketball career. One is the Rich Central Olympians in Olympia Fields. The [second] is the University of Illinois, and the other is the Bulls. All the other five NBA teams [Charlotte, Seattle, New Jersey, Miami and Minnesota] in between don't matter.

''I was a fan of the Bulls long before I became a basketball player. I was only about 8 or 9 years old when I first started coming to the old Chicago Stadium along with my cousin, Efrem Hayes, and a few other friends.

''We didn't have the money to go inside to see the games. But we got a thrill from just standing outside the Stadium at Gate 3-1/2 watching the players drive up in their luxury cars.''

Bulls operations chief John Paxson confirmed a Sun-Times report that the Bulls made room for Gill on the roster by releasing Dalibor Bagaric, a 7-1, 290-pound center from Croatia. Bagaric, who is playing with the Croatian national team, will be paid most of the $1.4 million he was guaranteed when the Bulls exercised the option on him for next season. But he will play in Europe.

''This way we are being fair with Dalibor by giving him a chance to go where he will get more playing time to facilitate his development,'' said Paxson, who left for vacation with his family after signing Gill. ''We feel real good about adding Gill to our team. He is another quality veteran who has an unbelievable workout regimen, which has kept him healthy and afforded him a lot of success over the years. He can play several positions and will join Trenton Hassell and Eddie Robinson filling in for Scottie Pippen in busy stretches of our schedule.''

Via Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves

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