The Jazz announced Friday that veteran guard Raja Bell won’t attend training camp next week.
“I have spoken with Raja and his representative, Herb Rudoy, and we have mutually agreed that although Raja remains under contract, it is in the best interest of all parties that he not rejoin the team next week when the Jazz begin training camp,” Utah general manger Dennis Lindsey said in a news release. “We will now move forward focusing on Jazz basketball and our preparation for the upcoming season. We will have no further comment on this matter.”
via Utah Jazz announce Raja Bell won’t attend training camp | The Salt Lake Tribune.
That’s a pretty strong statement form the team, who continues to try and reach some sort of agreement with Bell. They’re squabbling over a buyout and much like Rip Hamilton with the Pistons, the situation is untenable, yet unsolvable. Neither side will budge and a trade is a tricky thing to pull off considering the value involved.
It never makes sense to me why the holdout over the buyout. I understand that the team agreed to pay that money and that it’s not explicitly Bell’s fault that the coaching staff clashed with him so much. But from a practical standpoint, he’s still going to get a pretty decent chunk of it back wherever he signs next. If he does get let go, look for Miami, the Wolves, the Lakers, and others to be interested in him.
