Raja Bell Heading to the Utah Jazz
National Basketball Association fans were abuzz with the notion that defensive specialist Raja Bell and his arch-nemesis Kobe Bryant might be joining forces for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bell had reportedly scheduled a sit-down with Bryant in Los Angeles, but will most likely be cancelling the meeting after signing with Lakers’ rivals, the Utah Jazz.
The deal is reportedly worth nearly $10 million over the span of three years and was an offer Bell felt he couldn’t refuse. Sources also state that Bell was offered a two-year deal by Chicago for $8 million. Bell opted to not take the deal due to the second year being incentive-based, depending on Bell's ability to appear in at least 60 games.
Regardless of all the interest from Chicago and the personal interaction with Kobe Bryant, Bell decided to sign with the Jazz immediately. It is interesting that he chose to do so after scheduling a sit-down with Bryant. The planned sit-down included plans for a helicopter transport between the EPSY awards and Bryant’s location.
Bell’s acceptance of the Jazz offer stems from his previous tenure at Utah and his knowledge of coach Jerry Sloan’s system. Bell played for the Jazz from 2003 until 2005. At the time, he averaged 11.75 points per game with 0.75 steals.
Bell’s signing also means that the Jazz will most likely not be matching the offer made to young guard Wesley Matthews. The Portland Trailblazers offered Matthews a five-year, $34 million deal which the Jazz would have been strained to match.
Similarly, the Lakers simply could not offer Bell as much money as the Jazz. The two-time defending champions would have been able to offer only their remaining $1.8 million of mid-level exception to Bell for next season. The Lakers could have made a more serious offer had they not chosen to sign journeyman point guard Steve Blake.
This puts to rest the debate on whether or not Bryant and Bell would be capable of playing together given their tumultuous past interactions. Bryant seems to have been able to; Bell told ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin in a phone interview that Bryant had contacted him and urged him to sign with Los Angeles despite the epic play-off battles between the two players.
The most famous interaction between the two happened when Bell clotheslined Bryant to the floor in Game 5 of a Suns-Lakers series in 2006. Bell was suspended for one game for the act, but Los Angeles lost the series eventually after Bell’s actions fired up the rest of the Suns.
Apparently Bryant respects Bell’s actions and felt that anyone who was competitive enough to clothesline him was competitive enough to play alongside him as well. While the two players seem to be on much better terms now, the incident was not as peaceful when it occurred.
Following the clothesline, Bryant told reporters: "Does he know me? Do I know this guy? I don't know this guy. I might have said one word to this guy. I don't know this kid. I think he overreacts to stuff...I don't know this kid. I don't need to know this kid. I don't want to. We go out there, we play the game and leave it at that. Maybe he wasn't hugged enough as a kid. I look at him a little bit, he gets a little insecure or something. I don't know."
At the time, Bell responded: "It's a personal thing when someone continually hits you in the face."
In reality, it’s better for basketball that Bell and Bryant are not team mates. There is rarely a dynamic offensive-defensive rivalry like this in the NBA. It is almost reminiscent of the days of the Dennis Rodman vs. Karl Malone match ups. These kinds of rivalries bring out the best in both athletes while being entertaining to fans as well.
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