Journeyman NBA forward/center Jordan Bell has apparently given up on making a return appearance in the league for the first time since the 2021-22 NBA season. It appears he’s opting to at least wait until next year. But it also appears he does have another destination in mind sooner than that.
Bell’s draft rights out of Oregon were infamously traded by the Chicago Bulls to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for cold hard cash considerations in 2017 (not ideal). The 6’8″ vet lucked out with his first club. Considered sort of a junior Draymond Green-in-training, Bell served as a fringe rotation player across 17 contests during the team’s run to the 2018 NBA title (this was the Kevin Durant/Stephen Curry/Klay Thompson/Green iteration of the team, when all four players were still All-Stars and could essentially only be stopped by injuries and inner squabbling). During that run, the then-rookie Bell averaged 2.4 points on 53.1% shooting from the floor, 2.8 rebounds and 0.5 blocks in 10.2 minutes. Bell actually saw his minutes reduced to 7.2 per during the Warriors’ subsequent run to the 2019 Finals (an eventual loss).
That Warriors phase was essentially his peak in terms of NBA recognition, as he would go on to be shifted across various clubs for the ensuing several seasons, and was appreciated for his energy off the bench, but never developed a jumper, while remaining a bit slight and undersized for his position. From 2019-22, Bell played with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies, Washington Wizards, the Warriors again (for a single game), and, very briefly, the team that “drafted” him, the Bulls, in 2021-22, on a 10-day hardship exception contract, as multiple Chicago players were dealing with injuries and debilitating COVID-19 infections. Across his NBA career, he’s played in a total of 161 contests (17 starts). Bell posted averages of 3.7 points on 55.2% shooting from the floor, 3.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.8 blocks per bout.
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Now 29, Bell has mostly been tooling around the fringes of the league in recent seasons, beyond one international cameo. He served stints with the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s NBA G League affiliate squad, and the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers’ NBAGL team, in 2022. He inked a deal with CBA club the Guangzhou Loong Lions during the 2022-23 season.
This year, Bell had been playing with Indiana’s G League affiliate team, now re-branded as the Indiana Mad Ants. In 22 contests with the Mad Ants (12 starts), Bell posted averages of 12.2 points on 64.6% shooting from the floor, 7.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.7 blocks and 1.3 steals. Apparently, that’s all over now.
Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files reports that Bell reached a buyout deal with the Mad Ants earlier this week, as he looks for a gig overseas. Agness predicts that Bell could return to the CBA, for an encore run. Time will tell, but presumably the money will far outdo his G League checks.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.