J.J. Barea is on his way out of Minnesota as the Timberwolves intend to buy out the veteran guard's contract according to a report by ESPN's Marc Stein:
The Minnesota Timberwolves are in the process of finalizing a buyout for veteran guard J.J. Barea that should enable Barea to become a free agent early next week, according to league sources.
Sources told ESPN.com that Barea will be waived by the Wolves before Monday's 5 p.m. deadline for teams to cut rosters down to 15 players and possibly as early as Sunday.
So what's the next chapter for the 30 year old Puerto Rican point guard's career in the NBA? A reunion with Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks Stein reveals:
Sources say that the Dallas Mavericks, meanwhile, are planning to re-sign Barea next week once he clears waivers. Barea is expected to clear because his salary-cap number for the coming season is $4.5 million.
If Barea officially signs with the Mavs, he will be the second player - Tyseon Chandler is the first - to return back to Dallas from the 2011 championship squad. According to Tyson Chandler, the current Mavs roster, highlighted with the addition of Chandler Parsons from the Houston Rockets via free agency, is already a "better team than the 2011 team". That's quite an intriguing analysis considering that the 2011 team beat the Miami Heat with LeBron James. But whether Chandler's assessment was correct or not, one thing is for sure: the addition of Barea clearly improves the Mavs chances of contending for a title this coming season.
Barea was an integral part of the Mavs 2011 title run, averaging 8.9 points and 3.4 assists per game off the bench during the playoffs - including some clutch three point shots and lethal dribble penetrations against the Heat per Pro Basketball Talk. The Mavericks let him walk in free agency the summer after they won the title after which the Timberwolves signed him to a four-year, $18 million contract.
Join the Conversation