J.J. Barea To Be Waived By Minnesota Timberwolves
After unsuccessfully trying to include backup guard J.J. Barea in Kevin Love trade talks all summer, it appears the Minnesota Timberwolves are prepared to buy him out to get him off the roster. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Wolves are in the final stages of buying him out so they can waive him as soon as possible.
Barea is on course to be waived by the Wolves as soon as today and, at the latest, before Monday's 5 PM roster cutdown deadline
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 26, 2014
In two seasons with the Wolves, Barea averaged 9.9 points and 3.9 assists in 20.9 minutes per game. He wasn’t particularly efficient off the bench for Minnesota, however, shooting just 40.5 percent from the field and 32.8 percent from three-point range. Barea started in three of his 153 appearances with the team.
In his final season with the Dallas Mavericks, Barea played a pivotal role off the bench for a championship team. After being disappointed by a one-year offer in the offseason, Barea was given a four-year, $19 million contract by the Timberwolves. With Barea set to be waived, it appears Mark Cuban might be willing to continue reuniting his 2011 championship roster:
After clearing waivers, JJ Barea is then hoping to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks, who'll have to open a roster spot to make room for him
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 26, 2014
After trading Jose Calderon for Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler earlier is summer, the Mavs will look to use their final roster spot on yet another member of that championship team, J.J. Barea. The roster currently stands at 15, however, so Dallas will need to cut someone first to free up a spot for Barea.
During the 2010-11 season, Barea only averaged 9.5 points and 3.5 assists in 20.6 minutes per game. But during the playoffs en route to the NBA Finals, he was a game changer off the bench, particularly against the Los Angeles Lakers (11.5 PPG and 5.5 APG) and the Oklahoma City Thunder (11.4 PPG and 3.4 APG).
Should the Mavericks choose to free up a spot for Barea, the most likely candidates out the door would be Gal Mekel or Greg Smith.