Sep
18
For Whom the Bell Tolls!
Filed Under NBA, Commentary
Charlie Bell Signs Offer Sheet with Miami Heat
After spending last year with old and hobbled guards Jason Williams and Eddie Jones alongside injured superstar Dwayne Wade, the Miami Heat are looking to add a younger player to the mix in Bucks guard Charlie Bell. The Heat signed Bell to a five year, $18.5 million offer sheet on Monday, and Bell apparently really wants to play for Miami. Bell has said that the Bucks told him that the organization doesn’t have the money to resign him, and that he thus wants out from the team that gave him a shot in the pros. Bell has surprisingly threatened of going to Greece and getting a nice contract there rather than playing again for the Bucks.
Bell’s path to the NBA has been a surprise to say the least. A member of Michigan State’s heralded “Flintstones” teams that reached three straight Final Fours from 1999-2001 (including winning the title in 2000 against the University of Florida), Bell never seemed like he had much prospects for an NBA career. Always a rock and steady influence on those great Michigan State teams, Bell was an underappreciated player beside college studs like three-point specialist Morris Peterson, superb point guard Mateen Cleaves, athletic swingman Jason Richardson, and high school All-Americans Zach Randolph and Marcus Taylor.
After showing his leadership as a senior and leading Michigan State to the 2001 Final Four (where the Spartans were annihilated by a deep Arizona team featuring an amazing starting lineup of Gilbert Arenas, Richard Jefferson, Loren Woods, Michael Wright and Jason Gardner), Bell wasn’t even selected in the 2001 NBA Draft. After spending very small bits and pieces with the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns during the 2001-2002 season, Bell found himself out of the NBA for three years.
After getting a sip of coffee (if you could call it that) in the NBA in 2001-2002, Bell caught on with the Bucks during the 2005-2006 season. Bell then averaged a career-high 13.5 points per game during 82 games last season; thus making him somewhat of a late period free agent commodity after once being considered a fringe NBA player.
The fact that Bell is commanding a five-year NBA contract is surprising to say the least. Bell entered college with no jump shot and was the fifth option on offense when the Spartans won the 2000 title with Peterson, Cleaves, center Andre Hutson, underrated power forward A.J. Granger and a freshman Richardson. A lot more players have passed through the Spartan program during the last seven years that you would have figured to play in the NBA, including the talented Taylor, who made the foolish decision to leave after his sophomore season. And if you were to look at the starting backcourt of that 2000 Spartans team, no one would have Bell having a better career than Cleaves, who has been a journeyman.
Now Bell is on the verge of signing a very nice NBA contract. Who would have thought it? Maybe only Charlie Bell, who has certainly benefited from his work ethic and the fact that the NBA is not as strong as it used to be.
With that said, give Heat Coach Pat Riley credit for picking up a player like Bell, who will actually look interested on the court and be a solid backup to Wade on a team which often leaves a lot to be desired in terms of effort and headiness (paging Antoine Walker).
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