Jordan

Bell

The Pacers were busy on Thursday as they continued final training camp preparations. Bell, who played in China last season, will have an opportunity to compete for a roster spot. However, with 17 players already under contract for the upcoming season, it’s more likely that this move was made with the team’s G League affiliate in mind. In addition to signing Bell, the Pacers waived Craig Sword and Pedro Bradshaw. With both being on Exhibit 10 contracts, those moves were made to secure the players’ G League rights.

Bell will head to the CBA for the 2022-23 season, and he’ll join a team featuring Jeremy Lin, Michael Beasley and Anthony Bennett. Bell could try to work his way back to the NBA once the CBA season concludes, but he’s nothing more than a backup center.

The Bulls drafted Bell out of Oregon in the second round of the 2017 NBA draft before trading him to the Warriors where Bell, where he won an NBA championship in 2018. Bell has since bounced around in the NBA and the G-League, most recently with the Santa Crus Warriors in the G-League showcase. Bell will provide some depth in the post for the Bulls, but he is not expected to make an impact in fantasy basketball.

These moves open up the Warriors’ 15th roster spot, which head coach Steve Kerr said they will “have discussions” about in the coming days. According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, there is a possibility that the Warriors could bring Payton II back after these discussions play out. For Bell and Mulder, they will either be heading to the G-League or hoping their phone rings for one of the other NBA franchises in the coming days.

With the Warriors converting Juan Toscano-Anderson’s two-way contract to a standard deal (guaranteed through the 2021-22 season), the team had an open slot to fill. Enter Bell, who spent his first two seasons with the Warriors. Bell is expected to be available for Friday’s game against the Pelicans, but DFS players shouldn’t expect much production from him.

Golden State could certainly use some more depth at the center spot, so Bell will be someone to monitor once he joins the team due to his shot blocking upside. To be clear, we’re not advocating for adding him, but he could be worth a stream if/when Draymond Green or Kevon Looney receive a rest day.

This was the second 10-day contract that the Wizards have signed Bell to this season, so they would have needed to ink him to a deal that would run through the remainder of the season. Don’t be surprised if there’s a reunion at some point down the line (maybe as soon as next season), as according to Hughes, the Wizards to like Bell as a player. What the Wizards do with the open roster spot remains to be seen, as starting small forward Deni Avdija has been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Hachimura aggravated the knee issue during the third quarter, remaining down on the court for a short period before walking back to the bench gingerly. The second-year forward played 23 minutes, posting a line of six points (2-of-7 FGs, 1-of-2 FTs), two rebounds, one steal, one block and one 3-pointer. Jordan Bell, who replaced Hachimura when he left the game, will have an opportunity to show the Wizards why he should remain with the team after his current 10-day deal expires.

This is the reason why the Wizards waived Jerome Robinson tonight, and while Bell will have opportunity in D.C., this is a wait-and-see situation in all leagues. In his three games with the club earlier this season, he posted meager averages of 3.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.0 block and 1.0 turnover per game on 33.3% shooting.

Bell made his first and last start as a member of the Wizards Wednesday night, tallying four points, 11 rebounds, five assists, one steal and one blocked shot in 31 minutes of action. Washington is closer to full strength as Deni Avdija, Rui Hachimura and Ish Smith (health and safety protocols) have all been cleared to return, so Bell was essentially surplus to requirements.