Patrick Beverley explains why he chose hometown Bulls over defending champion Warriors

Patrick Beverley is coming home. On an episode of "The Pat Bev Podcast" released Tuesday, the guard confirmed that he is returning to the Windy City and will join the Chicago Bulls. The team also announced Beverley's signing, as expected.

"I get to take my son to school. I get to take my son and my baby girl to school," he said from vacation in Paris. "I get to pick 'em up. I get to rep my city on my chest, proudly. If you think I went hard for other teams, just imagine how I'm gonna go hard for this one."

Beverley was born and raised in Chicago and played high school basketball at John Marshall Metropolitan High School. As a senior, he led the state of Illinois with 37.3 points per game. He's spent 10 years in the NBA with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers. He played the first half of this season with the Lakers and was traded to the Orlando Magic before the trade deadline, but was soon waived by coach Jamahl Mosley's team.

Patrick Beverley was deciding between Bulls and Warriors

Beverley revealed that his free agency decision was between the Bulls and the Golden State Warriors. He said he did give the Warriors serious consideration, but that they were waiting until after All-Star weekend to finalize their offer. The Bulls, on the other hand, were ready to embrace their hometown star.

"(The Warriors) kept it real with me, 'We don't want you to wait, Pat. If it's opportunities you want to take, go ahead. We respect it. We know there's a lot of teams after you,'" he said. "I felt like Bulls were the best fit. I appreciate Golden State. I appreciate the opportunity that was there if it was there. It worked out the way it was supposed to. God's plan."

Beverley said he likes how Bulls head coach Billy Donovan leads the team and he sees more of an opportunity with Chicago than with the defending champions. Despite receiving criticism for what some people see as antics, he said he plays with passion that he believes can empower his new team, which currently sits at No. 11 in the East just outside of playoff contention.

"I like (Donovan's) structure, I like how he goes about things, so I couldn't say no to that," he said. "Obviously, it's always good to play with a lot of great talent in Golden State, but it's a lot of guards over there. So I figured I could make a playoff push with the Bulls right now and kinda puff 'em up a little bit."

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Room for Patrick Beverley in Chicago

Bulls guard Lonzo Ball has not played this season due to a lingering knee injury and the team announced Tuesday that he will sit out the rest of the 2022-23 campaign, which leaves space for Beverley to step in. He said he's excited to unite with DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic as they push for the playoffs.

"I'm shooting 40 (percent) over the last couple months," he said. "Actually playing some of my best basketball. Put up the numbers, my numbers right now are better than my numbers in Minnesota last season."

Beverley said he was catching a flight back to the United States as soon as possible, was expecting to take his physical Wednesday and was eyeing suiting up for Friday's game against the Brooklyn Nets in front of his home crowd.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Patrick Beverley explains why he signed with Bulls over Warriors