Before Friday night’s home game against Chicago, Steve Kerr told reporters he had pegged this night as a rest opportunity for Draymond Green well in advance.

It was the most opportune favor Jordan Bell has ever received. The rookie big man, tabbed by Kerr to start in Green’s place, was eager to play well against the team that drafted him 38th overall only to ship him to the defending champion in exchange for money.

Bell had every intention of reminding them. During opening introductions, Bell made curious gestures with his hands, which he admitted after the game were meant to symbolize rubbing money together.

“I wanted to see how cash considerations was doing over there,” Bell told reporters.

Not as well as Bell, who tormented his original NBA team with the kind of all-around talent the woebegone Bulls could sorely use right now. The 6-foot-9 big man was everywhere on both ends of the floor, throwing down dunks and swatting away shot attempts to punctuate the mistake he felt Chicago made back in June.

If that wasn’t loud enough, well, words would do just as well. After scoring an and-one basket over Paul Zipser—a second-round pick the Bulls did keep—Bell looked up and said casually, “Three-point-five”—the amount of dollars (in millions) that Chicago reportedly received from Golden State in exchange for his Draft rights.

Odds are it was all planned. When Bell was notified on Wednesday that he would start against Chicago, his personal agenda immediately began to take shape.

“At first I was thinking of all types of things to troll the other team,” he told reporters.

His final stat line would have been enough: seven points, six rebounds, six blocks, four assists and two steals in 26 minutes of action. All of that served as salt for the already wounded Bulls, who are languishing with a league-worst 3-14 record.

Not that Bell cares. As far as he is concerned, he’s the Warriors’ Draft pick now.

“In my mind, I think I’m the first pick in the Draft coming to the Warriors,” Bell said.

By NBA News

First appeared on NBA.com Global