"As Jazz chief executive Greg Miller waited at the airport Wednesday night to greet his newest star in Al Jefferson, general manager Kevin O'Connor was moving to steal a favorite son in Raja Bell away from the Lakers.

The Jazz will bring back Bell, whose career took off during two previous seasons in Utah, on a reported three-year deal worth nearly $10 million while declining to match Portland's offer sheet to Wesley Matthews.

"He had the Jazz on his short list of teams from the moment free agency began," Bell's agent, Herb Rudoy, wrote in an e-mail. "Kevin has been after him from the beginning. Things just fell into place quickly today. Raja is thrilled to be back in [Salt Lake City]! He loved his time there."

The hope is Bell can deliver the three-point shooting and defense that Matthews brought as an undrafted rookie. Bell, however, will turn 34 in September and played in only six games last season with Charlotte and Golden State after undergoing wrist surgery.

Miller, meanwhile, praised the Jazz's response this offseason following the departures of Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver in free agency, saying, "It's neat to see how persistence can pay off."

"A lot of people had us kind of sold down the river," Miller added. "As I often have an opportunity to remind people, you can never count this franchise out. We just quietly kind of go about doing what we do and make every effort we can to be competitive every day."