General Manager Next Stars Recruitment Liam Santamaria explained that Cairns is \u2018definitely\u2019 in the mix for the rising talent, but noted that no contract had been signed yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s been a fun process we’ve been going through with Luke since he signed on to the program and we announced him as a Next Star at HoopsFest,\u201d Santamaria said on the recent episode of The Marketplace, presented by Paywise.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe said right from the start that we’re going to take our time with this process, and we’re going to let a little bit play out at the end of the season, to see who exactly is going to be coaching all these teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to determine what could potentially be a great fit for him and where he could potentially be a great fit for that team and that program as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Santamaria explained that Paul and his camp have explored interest from multiple NBL teams over the past few weeks, hinting that a final decision on which team he\u2019ll join was not far away.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s had a number of meetings with a number of teams and has had some really good conversations in that regard, with Cairns definitely being one of those,\u201d Santamaria added.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it ends up being Cairns, I think that would be a great spot for him. I\u2019m excited for what type of roster that ends up looking like and I\u2019m excited to see whether Adam Forde locks back in as their head coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know [Forde] is a great developer of young talent and is a Western Australian guy who has a good read on Luke\u2019s game, having seen him come through that system.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose conversations have been trending well, but there’s no contract locked away at this point. If it ends up being the Taipans, though, I think that would be a great spot for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
This reported news comes after Paul dominated at the recent Under 18s National Championships in Brisbane, where the 17-year-old starred for Western Australia Metro.<\/p>\n
His 38-point performance against Victoria Country and 30-point effort against NSW Country were his highest-scoring outings, while he flirted with triple-doubles on multiple occasions, including posting 16 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists (along with 7 combined steals and blocks) in one game and 16 points, 14 rebounds and 9 assists in another.<\/p>\n
Paul, who is the youngest ever athlete to sign a Next Stars contract, is also set to lead the country\u2019s campaign at the 2026 FIBA Under 17 World Cup in June in Istanbul, Turkey.<\/p>\n
The Next Stars program has seen six players drafted in the first round across the last six NBA drafts, including LaMelo Ball (2020), Josh Giddey (2021), Ousmane Dieng (2022) and Alex Sarr (2024), all being selected inside the lottery.<\/p>\n