The Dallas Mavericks have waived guard Jose Juan Barea.
Per the Dallas Morning News, “Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson on Thursday confirmed that the team will be releasing veteran guard Barea. ESPN on Wednesday reported the expected roster move. “A little bit of a sad day in Mavs-ville as we say goodbye to J.J. Barea,” Nelson told reporters via Zoom. “We’ve had an incredible, amazing ride with J.J. … He, in a lot of respects, has been the heart and soul of us for many, many years.”
Barea (5-10, 180) holds career averages of 8.9 points, 3.9 assists and 19.6 minutes in 831 games (107 starts) with Dallas and Minnesota. In an additional 50 playoff games (11 starts) for Dallas, Barea averaged 7.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 19.7 minutes. The point guard helped the Mavericks to their first NBA title in 2011, appearing in 21 games throughout the run.
And per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “the Mavericks re-signed Barea for one year and $2.6 million earlier this fall, but according to ESPN, Cuban was aware that the guard was going to be released and wanted to reward him for his 11 seasons with the team.”
Barea has played 11 of his 14 NBA seasons with the Mavericks. Among franchise leaders, he ranks fifth in games (637), seventh in 3-pointers made (596) and eighth in assists (2,441).
The Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, native went undrafted in the 2006 NBA Draft and was signed by Dallas as a rookie free agent on Aug. 17, 2006. Barea attended Northeastern University where, as a senior, he averaged 21.0 points, 8.4 assists and 4.4 rebounds for the Huskies.
