Raja Bell

Raja Bell - After being DNP'd the whole of last season with Utah, and waived at the very end of it, Bell worked out for the Knicks this summer in the hope of making a comeback, but was unsuccessful. Six seasons removed from when he was last an effective role player, Bell's chances of a comeback are slim, but name recognition counts for a lot.

That leaves Utah and Houston as pre-deadline projected tax payers. And as of today, both still are. Utah saved a little bit of 2010/11 tax when they made the Deron Williams deal, but they were still $4,907,732 over it in the aftermath, and never made another deal. Rumours of Raja Bell to Minnesota went nowhere - the Timberwolves presumably realising just in time that they don't need 34 year old veterans for the stretch run when they have only 13 wins - and players like C.J. Miles and Andrei Kirilenko were not moved to cut costs. Strangely, neither was Ronnie Price; his $1,321,250 salary was not enough to get the Jazz under the tax, but a simple trade him and cash to a team with cap space, as predicted way back when, would have saved them that much again in luxury tax. Alas, it did not happen. And I'm not sure why.

Raja Bell - Bell is 33, and his best days are behind him. He didn't even finish last season on an NBA roster, being waived by the Warriors due to his wrist injury, and playing only 6 games all season. However, when healthy, Bell can still play. He is probably outside of the Bulls price range, no doubt able to get a bigger role and a better payday elsewhere. But if for some bizarre reason he should become available like this, the Bulls should snap him up.