National Basketball Association

Report: Kent Bazemore turned down more money to stay with Hawks

Published Jul. 2, 2016 2:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

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:

You know what the true irony is about Bazemore turning down $72 million from the Lakers to remain with Atlanta is?

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.

For the Hawks, this has to be a relief. They drafted like they thought they were going to lose Bazemore, yet they get him back. They also reached agreement with Dwight Howard and should have a solid team next season.

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