Jordan Bell agrees to a deal with Minnesota
The third-year big is, not surprisingly, leaving the Warriors.
Jordan Bell’s days with the Golden State Warriors appear to be over. The third-year big man is signing a guaranteed contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.
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
According to Mark Medina of the Mercury News, Bell also had interest from the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Utah Jazz. He reportedly chose the Timberwolves because of the role the team could offer him.
I'm told Jordan Bell also fielded interest from Houston, Oklahoma City and Utah. But Bell narrowed in on Minnesota because he could have the biggest role there
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) July 1, 2019
The Warriors extended the qualifying offer to Bell at the start of the offseason, making him a restricted free agent. According to Medina, the Warriors did not renounce those rights - they just won’t match the offer sheet from Minnesota.
While the terms of the deal have not been released, the contract has to be at least two years in length, per the CBA’s rules regarding restricted free agents. However, initial reports from Medina and Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle state the deal as being for one year, so it remains unclear where the disconnect is.
None of this is surprising. Once the Warriors executed the shocking move to acquire D’Angelo Russell, their available money nearly dried up, as they found themselves knocking on the door of the hard cap.
If the Warriors are to retain any of their young free agents - Bell, Quinn Cook, Damion Lee, and Kevon Looney - it will almost surely be Looney. As soon as the Russell news was announced, Bell’s fate with the Warriors was essentially sealed.
The Warriors remained high on Bell, whom they drafted in the second round of 2017, after buying the pick from the Chicago Bulls. Reported issues with maturity and professionalism had drained some of their interest in the athletic big, but the interest was certainly there.
The money, however, was not.