WATCH: JJ Barea Breaks Down While Reflecting On His Time In Dallas Mavericks

JJ Barea is one of the longest-tenured players for the Dallas Mavericks. However, it appears as though his time with the Mavericks is over. The Mavericks will be waiving Barea.

Barea entered the NBA in 2006 but went undrafted. He signed separately with the Dallas Mavericks in 2006. Barea was a two-way player, shuffling between his duties with the Mavericks and the Fort Worth Flyers. In 2007, Barea made it to the full squad with a formal contract from the Dallas Mavericks.

From then onwards, Barea became a solid bench player. He rarely started games, but played many games for the Mavericks coming off the bench. Barea would provide a solid option from the Bench for the Mavericks.

By 2011, JJ Barea was able to play 81 games for the Mavericks in the regular season. In the 2011 post-season run, he played all 21 games for the Mavs, and provided solid scoring of the bench. Barea was an important rotation piece as the Dallas Mavericks went on to win the NBA Championship.

However, he departed the Mavs after the championship win, attempting to leave on a high. He joined the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2011 and played there for three years. But his time with the Timberwolves was disappointing, and they waived him in 2014.

JJ Barea Talks Mavs Departure

Barea returned to the Dallas Mavericks in 2014 and played for them as a role player for the remainder of his days with the team. In 2020, the Mavericks have waived Barea. But as a gesture of gratitude for his loyalty, Mavs owner Mark Cuban rewarded him with a $2.6 million deal, before waiving him so he gets paid even after his stint with Dallas.

Barea spoke to the press about leaving the Mavericks after spending most of his career with the team. He called Dallas his second home. “It’s a tough question, but Dallas is my second home. I’m from Puerto Rico. This is just special man. The happiest place that I ever played basketball. The people, you guys, my teammates, the coach. The coach is my favorite coach of all time. Donny, Mark, everything.” 

Barea then went onto thank the fans for the team. “They treated me the same way from day one. And then when I made the team, it’s been the same. The fans, you guys don’t know how I feel when I go in the game. And the fans and what they do, I just enjoy it and this is always going to be the best. A special place for me.”

Barea will be remembered in Dallas as a fan favorite and an NBA Champion. It will be interesting to see if continues his career in the NBA.