Jose Barea wants to stay with the Dallas Mavericks – NBA Update
Jose Barea was a relative unknown, or at least under rated, player coming into the 2011 NBA playoffs.
Not anymore though.
Barea lit up the arenas in the post season frequently as he proved to be a penetration machine, one which the Dallas Mavericks used to devastating effect. Coming off the bench most of the time, Barea provided the offensive spark
to the Mavs at crucial times and took many teams by surprise with his outside and parameter shooting.
One of the main reasons for Barea’s splendid playoffs was his coach, Rick Carlisle. Carlisle used Barea expertly, putting him on the court in exactly the kind of situations his talents could exploit. Barea responded and is now
being eyed by teams around the NBA.
The Puerto Rico native is a free agent this summer and his performances in the playoffs will likely attract some big bids from GMs around the league. However, the fact remains that Barea is a good backup for point guard and not
yet ready to take on the job fulltime. Therefore the Mavs are unlikely to pay him over the odds to re-sign.
With an uncertain future and in light of his new found hero status at Dallas, Jose Barea declared his desire to stay with the NBA World Champions. However, Barea also added that at the end of the day, the pay check will also come
into play. Regardless of what happens, Barea assured Dallas fans that he loves the club and will do as much as he can to stay,
“It’s a business, but I love Puerto Rico and then I love Dallas,” Barea said. “This city is real special to me, so hopefully (owner) Mark (Cuban) and Donnie and myself, my family will do everything we can to stay here in Dallas.”
With the NBA Labour dispute still unresolved and the league likely headed for a lockout, both parties will have some time to iron out an agreement. The issue of Barea receiving a lucrative contract from elsewhere is still a danger,
but that could be effected if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is reached that restricts the salary cap of teams around the league.
In that situation, the Mavericks certainly have the financial muscle to match or at least come very close to matching any offers other teams make to Jose Barea. The Dallas Mavericks management has already made it clear that they
want to re-sign Jose Barea along with fellow free agents Caron Butler and Tyson Chandler.
Small forward Butler has been out with an injury since the turn of the year but was an important part of the Mavericks side before that, averaging around 15 points per game. Centre Tyson Chandler has been a revelation since joining
the Mavs last summer and is now the mainstay of the NBA Champions defence.
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