Bell 'Split Down the Middle' On Next Step After Injury

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer sheds some light on Bell’s thinking as weighs his options:

He hasn’t made a final decision whether to have surgery to repair that torn ligament, and he won’t until he hears back from a hand specialist in Chicago. Surgery could cost him four months of inactivity.

But there was Bell, wrist heavily wrapped, working out with a weighted ball, shooting 3-pointers and going through layup drills.

Sure looked like a guy predisposed to toughing it out by skipping that surgery. Is this about obligation?

“There is an obligation,” said Bell, as savvy a guy as you’ll meet in the NBA. "But there are two obligations: one to my family and myself and my career and (another) obligation to the team that I’m a part of. Being a competitor and a businessman, I’m kind of split down the middle.

“Hopefully this (specialist) comes back, tells me I’m fine to play, and then I don’t have to make a decision.’’