Rafael Araujo's Next Stop May Be Europe

Following today's announcement that the Jazz have signed second-round pick Kyrylo Fesenko to a three-year contract, Rafael Araujo's departure from Utah seems cemented in stone. Of course, the Jazz have still extended an invitation to training camp to the unrestricted free agent, but he doesn't sound too inclined to accept. From the Deseret Morning News:

Unless the Jazz make a trade that changes their inside lineup, [Araujo's agent Jim] McDowell considers it "unlikely" that Araujo will be in that Jazz camp come October, where the agent assumes his client would be more injury protection for the Jazz than a viable candidate for a roster spot. "It makes sense to look elsewhere," he said.

[...] McDowell said even if another NBA team offered Araujo what looked like a No. 12 spot on its roster, he might instead opt to play in Europe just to get on the court enough to further his career. "That might not be an optimal situation" for him, the agent said of an NBA end-of-the-bench job. "It would not help his career." McDowell assumes that minutes on the court this season, even if they're in Europe, will put Araujo "in a stronger position than he is now" to seek another NBA deal.

Araujo need to be careful, because unless he really tears things up in Europe it might be hard for him to get back into the NBA -- even if he's not playing, he might just want to stockpile those NBA paychecks for as long as he can keep getting them. Either way, it's been a long, long three years since he was the eighth overall pick in the 2004 draft, ahead of guys like Andre Iguodala, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith and Kevin Martin -- not to mention fellow Brazilian Anderson Varejao.