Raja Bell Close To Buyout With Jazz

JULY 30: Bell's buyout with the Jazz hasn't been finalized and there's a holdup in negotiations, a league source tells Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter).  Utah would like to sign off on Bell's buyout and move on from last season's drama while Bell's camp has yet to agree to the terms, Smith tweets.

JULY 8: Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune tweets that Raja Bell is on the verge of a buyout with the Jazz. The 6'5'' shooting guard averaged 6.4 PPG and shot 39.1% from three point range in 34 games last season. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo (via Twitter) says that Bell could be interested in returning to his hometown to play for the Heat. The Lakers could also be a possibility, as the 35-year-old guard would be reunited with former-Suns teammate Steve Nash.  

Smith also mentions that Bell holds no ill-will toward the Jazz and greatly respects GM Kevin O'Connor. The 12-year-veteran elaborated further on his current situation with Smith (Sulia link): 

"We typically play it pretty close to the vest. [Agent] Herb [Rudoy] and I are pretty private. But, in essence, [I'm] pretty much a free agent. I don't think the Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed. But we've been given the greenlight by Utah to go ahead and find something that works for us. We've agreed to the terms. So I think it's safe to say now we are in the market again and we're entertaining our options at this point." 

During the summer of 2010, Bell signed with Utah despite heavy interest from the Bulls and Lakers. In May of this year, we documented Bell's intentions of moving on from the Jazz and recalled the tension brewing between him and head coach Tyrone Corbin over the course of the season. Although Utah made the playoffs this year, Raja did not play in any of team's postseason games.