Warriors' Bell apologizes for suspension: 'I made an error of judgment'
Golden State Warriors forward Jordan Bell is remorseful after receiving a one-game suspension for "conduct detrimental to the team."
"I made an error of judgment," Bell told NBC Sports Bay Area on Friday, according to ESPN's Nick Friedell. "And I thought I was doing something funny, and it wasn't. But I apologized to the individuals involved, and I hope to continue to move forward from this mistake."
Bell was reportedly punished for placing a hotel charge on assistant coach Mike Brown's personal credit card prior to Golden State's game against the Memphis Grizzlies on March 27. This is reportedly not the first time he's been caught sending unauthorized charges to rooms other than his own, which is apparently viewed as a "concern" within the organization.
Veteran point guard Shaun Livingston briefly chatted with Bell to let him know he still has the support of his teammates. Even so, Livingston hopes the 24-year-old sees the error of his ways and works hard to rebuild any bridges he's burned.
"You go through something you might feel isolated, but it's also up to him to build trust and make sure that he gets back into a place to where he was before," Livingston said. "You don't want to be on a team where you're not trusted. You want to be on a team where you can build - where people trust you."
Bell, however, doesn't believe he's harmed any relationships through his questionable actions.
"I think we're all good," he added, according to the San Francisco Gate's Eric Ting. "I think everybody knows it was something I thought would be funny, as a joke that turned out not to be the way someone else took it, as a joke. So I have to be respectful of people's space, and even though I think something's funny, it might not be funny to them. Just to chill out."
Bell has seen his role diminish in his second year with the Warriors. He's averaging three points and 2.7 rebounds on 52.6 percent shooting in 11.4 minutes per game (2.8 fewer than his rookie year) across 61 appearances.