Apart from Kevin Durant, it looks like the Golden State Warriors are going to lose other players to free agency as well. Jordan Bell’s agent told Yahoo Sports on Monday that his client has agreed to a deal with the Timberwolves.
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D’Angelo Russell trade impacts Bell’s prospects
The 24 year old was extended a late qualifying offer by the Warriors, making him a restricted free agent. But Mercury news reports that the Warriors have no plans to match the offer, instead of hoping to maximize their available cap space.
Free agent Jordan Bell has agreed to a guaranteed deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, agents Aaron Mintz and Michael Tellem of CAA told Yahoo Sports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 1, 2019
The move to sign-and-trade D’Angelo Russell had an impact on the Warriors ability to match Bell’s offer as well. The acquisition of Russell, which the Warriors did to protect their assets, means that a “hard cap” was imposed on them, and they couldn’t realistically retain bell.
A poor spell at the Warriors comes to an end
Bell was a second-round pick in the 2017 Draft for the Warriors. He had a decent first season- averaging 4.6 points and 3.6 rebounds in 56 games. But his second season with the Warriors was a step back, averaging a lower 3.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.
Bell was not happy with the minutes he was getting in the team. He had made his frustrations clear before the Playoffs, and coach Steve Kerr had promised that he would get to play before the postseason. While Bell did get his starts- he started two playoff games, that was more down to the Warriors’ depleted roster thanks to injuries. In the whole of the 2018-19 campaign, he averaged fewer minutes per game than his debut year.
Bell had plenty of interest from various teams- Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Houston Rockets were all interested. But it seems Bell found the Timberwolves more appealing, perhaps down to the fact that he would have a much more significant role there.
