Kent Bazemore got handsomely rewarded on Friday when he and the Atlanta Hawks reached agreement on a four-year, $70 million deal in free agency. One extremely notable aspect of this news is that Bazemore not only chose to return to the Hawks, but also that he turned down more money from other teams.
According to TNT’s David Aldridge, Bazemore turned down more money from the Rockets and Lakers:
Kent Bazemore takes four years, $70M, turning down four/$72M from Houston and the Lakers, to go back to the Hawks, per source.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 2, 2016
You know what the true irony is about Bazemore turning down $72 million from the Lakers to remain with Atlanta is?
Lakers had Bazemore and let him go for NOTHING and then get turned down a two years later trying to sign him back. Life comes at you fast.
— Nate Jones (@JonesOnTheNBA) July 2, 2016
Do you know why the Lakers released Bazemore after the 2013-2014 season? They were trying to clear cap space for a superstar like Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James.
I guess when you play by the motto “go big or go home,” you can end up spurned by the likes of Kent Bazemore and end up paying Timofey Mozgov $64 million in free agency.
