Mavericks reserve point guard Barea elaborates on his perspective about his future
José Juan Barea described yesterday as “frustrating” that he did not have the opportunity to contribute to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA postseason — and after their final game on Sunday in which they lost to LA Clippers and got eliminated — the Puerto Rican player was left with many questions about what his future will be in the league and in the game.
“I still want to play basketball; I feel like I can still play basketball,” he said. “I don’t know exactly where. If it is going to be in Dallas, I know what they want is to move me to coach. If I want to play basketball, I have to go the other way,” he added.
Barea will scrutinize his options and figure out what the next step may be for him. He knows that there will be some interest from Spain but his lifestyle and the NBA are two things he wouldn’t like to change:
“For now I want to play in the NBA. I haven’t thought much about other options. There will be (options), but I am used to this life and the NBA,” he said. “Spain is always an option. It was my plan B before I got to the NBA. That was many years ago,” he added.
The veteran point guard has spent almost his entire career with the Mavericks as he has been a part of the organization for 11 years. He won an NBA championship with the Mavericks in 2011 before signing with the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he played for the next three seasons and then returned back to Dallas.
This season, he played in 29 games and started only in six of them. He averaged 7.7 points per game in 15.5 minutes of playing time, along with 1.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and shot 41.1% from the field, 37.6% from the three-point line and 90.9% from the free-throw line.