Raja Bell says he wants to play for the Miami Heat
Raja Bell was interviewed Monday morning on the Jorge Sedano Show on 790 The Ticket and wasn’t shy about his willingness to sign with the Miami Heat. As an unrestricted free agent who is cleared to sign with any team immediately because he didn’t finish the season on an NBA roster, Pat Riley needs to act upon this right now as Bell is pretty much exactly the kind of low-cost veteran player that the Heat will need to fill their roster if they should sign another max free agent alongside Dwyane Wade.
I’ve talked a lot about it with my agent and my family and honestly Miami is my first choice. If there could be any interest from the Heat I would give it a whole lot of thought and a whole lot of time. Just because this is my hometown and I associate with South Florida and I always come back to South Florida. So I love it here and I’d love to get a chance to play for the Heat.
When I look at myself and I see at what Pat puts stock in and I see kind of where their team is I think I could fit in well here. But that’s something that’s not ultimately up to me. It would have to be up to the Heat.
The 33-year-old former F.I.U standout should be fully healed from his wrist injury that cut his season short after only six games and will be well rested after sitting out so many months.
Getting a quality perimeter defender that should get plenty of open looks at the three-point line thanks to Wade seems to be a no-brainer. Let’s see if Riley will bite.
Pat, if you can use my services, brother, I’m right around the corner. 36th and Biscayne. Give me a call!
Full interview below (courtesy of Peninsula is Mightier)
Raja Bell interview on Jorge Sedano Show
6 comments
Sedano mentioned later in the show that Raja is just the kind of player that slides well into a Pat Riley system, the player who shoots well from outside and stays strong on defense. With an injury and hometown discount in place, there’s no reason why Raja wouldn’t be a great pick-up.
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Moriarty Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 7:45 am
Matthew,
The problem is how good is really now? I’m sure not many people watched him play on that Charlotte team. All we really remember is how awesome he was on those Phoenix Suns teams. Also remember that players in their thirties who are known for their defense and shooting threes fall off a cliff. Just look at what has happened to James Posey in the first few seasons in New Orleans. I’m not saying he can’t be effective in limited minutes but thinking he’ll be the same defensive stopper who took the assignment of guarding Kobe Bryant all those years ago is a stretch.
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Surya Fernandez Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 8:23 am
Yeah, but the roster has to be filled out with cheap players because the Heat can’t go over the cap and simply pay a luxury tax. So even if he’s washed up you’re still looking at someone who could be effective off the bench and be a positive influence in the locker room. There’s still going to be several spots available anyway so it’s not like he’s the final piece to the puzzle.
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He might not be a Eric Spoelstra type of guy tho
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If he works hard, hustles, and plays defense – he will be a Spo/riley/Heat kind of guy. He’s been banged up lately so his true value can’t really be meassured but I don’t think it would be a bad addition – starter or off the bench. I think he is itching to play after sitting out almost all of last season and wants to be part of the next generation of the Heat, which has more or less guaranteed to be special by Pat Riley himself.
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I think it will be a nice idea him coming off the bench at SG nice defensive player
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