Raja Bell will not accept the Utah Jazz's minimum buyout offer before Friday's midnight deadline, his agent, Herb Rudoy, told The Salt Lake Tribune.
Bell, who is being paid $3.48 million this season, has been away from the team all year since directing unflattering comments at coach Tyrone Corbin at the end of last season. Earlier this week, Jazz Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin O'Connor told a team-owned radio station that the Jazz had offered the minimum buyout to Bell before the season and that "we never heard from him."
Bell needed to take a buyout by midnight Friday to be eligible for the playoffs with another team.
"The framework of the buyout we have had in place all year was premised on us finding an offer in the league," Rudoy said in a text messsage to The Tribune. "We did not, so Raja is turning down the buyout."
Bell was closely linked in reports to the Lakers, who reportedly were interested in adding the 36-year-old guard for a possible playoff run but were reportedly hesitant to add to their $100-plus million payroll.
Bell played 102 games over two seasons in his second stint with the Jazz. He also played in Utah from 2003 to 2005. In 12 NBA seasons with six teams, Bell has averaged 9.9 points per game.
— Bill Oram
