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With the hiring of Mike D'Antoni as coach, the Los Angeles Lakers are showing a renewed interest in trying to find a way to sign exiled Utah Jazz guard Raja Bell once his contract buyout is completed, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Veteran guard Raja Bell last played for the Jazz last season. (AP)Bell, 36, has had strong advocates with general manager Mitch Kupchak and Kobe Bryant since the summer, but D'Antoni's history coaching Bell with the Phoenix Suns has amplified discussion of signing the veteran guard should the Lakers create an opening on their roster.

With a $100 million payroll and $30 million in additional luxury-tax expenditures, the Lakers are unsure about cutting a player, paying his salary and then paying the additional salary ($1.3 million) and tax that it would take to sign Bell.


The Lakers have tried unsuccessfully for several weeks to trade bench players to create roster space.

"The biggest question is the taking on of more money," a league source told Yahoo! Sports.

Bell is still under contract with the Jazz, but the team has allowed him to stay away this season until he finds a suitable offer and the two sides can execute a buyout. Once Bell has secured a contract for the veteran's minimum elsewhere, the Jazz will buy out the difference on the remaining $3.5 million on his 2012-13 contract. Bell wouldn't lose any money between the buyout and joining a new team.

Utah has allowed Bell and his agent, Herb Rudoy, to search out deals elsewhere. The Chicago Bulls have shown some interest in Bell, too, but haven't made any offers, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

When his minutes and role diminished a year ago, Bell began to clash with Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin. Bell started 30 games for the Jazz a year ago, but his minutes steadily decreased over the season. Bell had long been considered a quality perimeter defender and a credible 3-pointer shooter, but several league executives, scouts and coaches wonder how much of that proficiency is still left in his game.

Bryant has been a proponent of acquiring Bell once he's a free agent – and has communicated that to Bell, sources said – but Los Angeles signed shooting guard Jodie Meeks and absorbed several contracts in its trade for Dwight Howard.

Bell has been working out in his hometown of Miami, preparing for his chance to return to the league.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports!, the Lakers have interest in Utah Jazz guard Raja Bell.

Bell, a feisty defender who played for Coach Mike D'Antoni with the Phoenix Suns, is in the final year of his contract, earning $3.48 million. The Jazz and Bell tried to negotiate a buyout over the summer but were unable to agree to terms. Bell was instead asked not to come to camp in Utah and has been working out independently throughout the season.

At 36 years old, Bell wouldn't make the Lakers any younger but he's a capable veteran who played the best basketball of his career for D'Antoni. Prior to signing with the Jazz, Kobe Bryant reached out to Bell, hoping to convince him to sign with the Lakers. Instead Bell took a three-year, $10 million deal with Utah.

Currently the Lakers have a full roster of 15 players. Neither Robert Sacre nor Darius Johnson-Odom has a guaranteed deal but both represent what little youth the team has to develop.

The team hasn't played Devin Ebanks since he was arrested on suspicion of DUI. Because he signed the team's qualifying offer ($1.05 million) as a restricted free agent, Ebanks has the authority to block a trade.

While the Lakers don't need four point guards long-term, with Steve Nash with a leg injury and Steve Blake with an abdominal strain, veteran Chris Duhon has become an important part of the rotation behind second-year guard Darius Morris.

The only Lakers who can legally be traded straight up for Bell would be Blake or Duhon. Jordan Hill's salary matches but the forward cannot be dealt until Dec. 15, since he recently signed a contract with the Lakers. Hill would be an unlikely option for the Lakers, given his role in the rotation as the primary backup to both Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol.

The Lakers could look to package multiple players to Utah but even the combination of Earl Clark and Ebanks isn't quite enough to acquire Bell. The Jazz also have a full roster of 15 players (although three aren't guaranteed).

Technically a combination of Jodie Meeks and Clark would properly match Bell's salary but Meeks cannot be dealt until Dec. 15.

There's no sense the Lakers are near any deal but given the team's lack of bench production, they're certain to be linked to many players before the trade deadline.

Rox_Nix_Nox wrote:its a lateral move, doesn't "upgrade" anything