By: Tyler Ward
Sources have confirmed that Raja Bell is headed to the Utah Jazz. Bell had drawn interest from the Spurs, Celtics, Lakers, among other teams.
He was scheduled to visit with nemesis, Kobe Bryant, in Los Angeles, in hopes of patching up their problems from the 2006 playoffs. In Game 5 of the first round series, Bell clotheslined Bryant, which immediately led to an ejection. In the postgame conference, Bell told the media that he was only retaliating against him for a hard elbow to the jaw by Bryant during the game.
In his words, Bell said, "It's a personal thing when someone continually hits you in the face. That's the only way I can put it. I've been playing as hard as I can play. I've been trying to do a good job, I've been trying to be what my team needs me to be, and I continually get hit in my face. There doesn't seem to be any boundaries or limitations for what he's allowed to do to me, and at that point, I kind of lost my cool and I took it into my own hands." He was suspended for the next game, but Phoenix ultimately won the series.
Apparently, there's going to be no meeting.
Reports say that Bell's contract is a three-year deal worth about $10 million. The Jazz have been rather busy this offseason, trading for Al Jefferson and cutting ties with Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver.
Bell will more than likely get some playing time with Utah, where he played two seasons midway through the 2000's (03-05). He is expected to compete with C.J. Miles and Andrei Kirilenko for playing time, along with rookie Gordon Hayward.
