Jordan Bell is one of the most beloved rookies in the NBA. His versatile, all-around game is why the Warriors selected him in the 2017 NBA Draft, and it's why he is considered to be one of the Warriors' most exciting young players. However, the Mavericks don't seem to feel that sentiment, and that may be because of the aftermath of the Mavericks and Warriors game on October 23.
Even though the Warriors sealed the game early, Bell ran down the fastbreak on one play and threw the ball off the backboard for a dunk. This angered the entire Mavericks team, including head coach Rick Carlisle who didn't shake hands with Steve Kerr after the game. Apparently the bad blood didn't dissipate anytime soon because Bell later got into heated mini altercations with Salah Mejri and Devin Harris. While Bell dismissed his argument with Harris as a result of “physical play”, he later told Chris B. Haynes of ESPN what he thought about his run-in with Mejri.
“I think the first one I got into with. I don't know his name. The big dude, No. 50, I think that had something to do with it because I didn't even touch him at all. I hit the ball. He was being extra, trying to be a fake tough guy and s–t.”
After a fan on Twitter posted the reply to Mejri's Twitter handle, the Mavericks' big man responded in a similar manner.
It appears that Mejri may have taken offense to the Warriors' rookie for saying that he doesn't know him, which is probably why he responded with this particular comment. Though, Mejri probably just doesn't know Bell in the first place. Whatever the case may be, the next Mavericks and Warriors game will be interesting.