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View Full Version : Raja Bell opts for surgery instead of playing for GS



noob cake
11-17-2009, 04:47 PM
Bell could miss rest of season
Newly-acquired Raja Bell told The Chronicle on Tuesday that he will have wrist surgery, a decision that adds to the Warriors' injury woes and could cost the guard the rest of the season.

Bell, who was picked up from Charlotte in the Stephen Jackson trade Monday, will go back east for surgery to repair a partially torn ligament in his left wrist. He'll miss four or five weeks if the wrist is in decent shape and probably the rest of the season if screws are needed for the repair.

"I'm going into it, assuming it will be a big surgery," Bell said. "If I wake up and it's not, it's icing on the cake. I'm prepared for the worst-case scenario, and I'll go from there.

Bell could join Kelenna Azubuike (knee) and Brandan Wright (shoulder), who have been lost for the season. Coach Don Nelson said Ronny Turiaf (knee) is further away from playing than Andris Biedrins (back/groin), who won't be re-evaluated until Monday.

Bell will suit up Tuesday to give the Warriors the league-mandated eight players, but he will play against Cleveland only in an emergency. He injured his wrist when his wrist bent awkwardly while trying to grab a loose ball Oct. 16. He played five games after getting hurt, averaging 12 points, 4.2 rebounds and two assists a game.

"After playing, it's pretty evident that I cant' do the things I like to do and I feel would help the team the most," Bell said. "It's time to get it fixed.

"Shooting isn't a problem, but it's all of the little intangibles that I can bring that have been impossible."

The Warriors knew about Bell's injury when they acquired him. They encouraged the decision to go ahead with the surgery.

"We knew going in that his wrist is a problem, and it's not getting any better," Nelson said. "I think this is the right thing to do for him and for us. We're happy with his decision, but it does leave us in a bit of a hole."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/warriors/index?

Welcome to the new GSW lineup

Moore
Randolph/Radmanovic
Maggette
Morrow
Ellis/Curry

JMarkJohns
11-17-2009, 04:55 PM
So, Bell quit on the Suns, now quit on the Warriors, and will be entering free agency coming off of a lost season due to season-ending surgery in November. Good luck getting a decent contract after all that.

I have no idea if he could have played, but with his three-point shooting and GS' tempo/position need, there was a chance for a very solid to good year. Oh well...

lurker
11-17-2009, 05:03 PM
I don't blame him. He sucked it up and played through the pain for the Bobcats and all it got him was traded.

JMarkJohns
11-17-2009, 05:11 PM
Yeah, and he was averaging 12-4-2 on 38% from three for a deliberate Bobcat team when with the up-tempo Warriors his PPG could have risen to maybe as high as 15/16 per.

JamStone
11-17-2009, 05:13 PM
He's 33 years old. He doesn't give a shit anymore. Expect him to go for one last contract where he'll even play for a team like the Grizzlies for a relatively small contract by NBA standards.

JMarkJohns
11-17-2009, 05:27 PM
I think he actually does care, and will likely sign up with a contending team for a one-year minimum over a two-year Bi-An Exception rate with a crappy team. Thing is, I think he could have gotten both (and a better deal) should he have put up the numbers he's capable of in the Warriors' system.

mogrovejo
11-17-2009, 05:38 PM
People know Bell pretty well. If he plays a bit at the end of the season to show he fully recovered from the surgery, inflated numbers in Oakland wouldn't land him a better contract.

I'm hoping he fully recovers and the C's can pry him with a Marquis Daniels type of contract.

sribb43
11-17-2009, 05:48 PM
If I were him I'd say fuck the bobcats mj and Larry brown...dude put the team first, risking only further injury only to be shipped out

duhoh
11-17-2009, 10:54 PM
so GSW could've gotten a lone defender.

lefty
11-17-2009, 10:57 PM
I like Bell

Good luck to him

iggypop123
11-17-2009, 10:58 PM
he is trying to get a leg up on the 2010 class