NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on J.J. Barea, Christian Wood and Nemanja Bjelica Trade
Veteran point guard J.J. Barea has only known two teams in his NBA career, with the Dallas Mavericks being one. Will he find a third home?
The Dallas Mavericks—Barea's home for 11 seasons—signed Barea to a one-year deal in free agency, but it was more of a reward on behalf of owner Mark Cuban. Dallas, already over the limit for guaranteed contracts, subsequently released Barea weeks later.
Instead of deciding to retire, Barea declared his intent to keep playing. But an opportunity never arose.
Now, the 36-year-old will head overseas. He signed with Spanish club Estudiantes this past weekend as a means of extending his basketball life. However, the veteran might have done so in an effort to show NBA teams he can still play at a high level.
Here is the latest on Barea, as well as the plethora of teams interested in Christian Wood in the past 12 months and the Sacramento Kings' efforts to build the roster around De'Aaron Fox.
Barea Still Hoping for NBA Opportunity
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Barea will take his talents to Madrid to play with Estudiantes. But he is really hoping a strong performance in Spain will result in an NBA contract.
Tim MacMahon of ESPN reported Barea's contract with Estudiantes has an NBA out, adding Barea still has every intention of joining an NBA roster at some point. He will have the chance to prove his worth.
Barea has dealt with a myriad of injuries in recent years, but he is an offensive spark plug who makes the most of his minutes.
The Puerto Rico native played just 29 games and averaged just 15.5 minutes per contest during the 2019-20 campaign, but also strung together a per-36 line of 17.8 points, 9.0 assists and 4.2 rebounds. In fact, Barea's career per-36 numbers look like this: 16.4 points, 7.2 assists and 3.9 boards.
It remains to be seen whether the right opportunity will present itself. Barea would likely prefer to compete for a championship, but it is unknown whether top contenders would show interest.
Perhaps a team like the Los Angeles Clippers could come calling. The Clippers do not have a ton of depth at the point guard spot, and Barea probably has more playmaking upside than Reggie Jackson.
In any event, Barea is fighting for another chance in the twilight of his career.
Christian Wood's Journey to H-Town
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Houston Rockets big man Wood is playing like an All-Star through his first 12 games, and suddenly, he looks like one of Houston's top franchise centerpieces.
Wood could just as easily have been playing for the Rockets for some time now.
James L. Edwards III and Kelly Iko of The Athletic dissected Wood's journey from the last man on the Detroit Pistons roster to a budding star. According to Edwards and Iko, Houston showed interest in trading for Wood at last February's deadline, as did the Boston Celtics.
The 25-year-old ultimately broke out upon insertion in Detroit's starting lineup, showcasing tremendous ability as an athletic big capable of scoring around the rim and playing on the perimeter. He averaged 19.3 points and 9.0 rebounds in February before posting 26.6 points and 9.4 boards over the course of his final five games. Suddenly, Wood appeared to be a strong candidate to return to the Pistons.
However, new Pistons general manager Troy Weaver instead became enamored with former Denver Nuggets forward Jerami Grant, signing him to a three-year, $60 million deal during free agency. Detroit still had interest in Wood, but The Athletic reported the Pistons were unwilling to offer more than $10 million annually, as allowed by their "Early Bird" rights on Wood.
Meanwhile, the Rockets apparently never lost interest in the talented young big. The Athletic reported the Rockets attempted to acquire Wood last February, offering the Pistons Isaiah Hartenstein and a pair of second-round picks. Detroit turned it down.
No matter. Houston brought Wood into the fold as part of a sign-and-trade with the Pistons this fall, and the Long Beach native has proved himself a terrific investment in the early going. Wood is averaging 23.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, and he might now be a cornerstone player for first-year head coach Stephen Silas.
Kings Shopping Nemanja Bjelica
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Sacramento Kings stretch-big Nemanja Bjelica was one of the most efficient players on the roster last season. But he could on his way out of town as the Kings mold their roster around point guard De'Aaron Fox.
Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee reported the Kings have been shopping Bjelica since November, and they are likely to continue to gauge his value in the coming months.
Anderson reported the Kings have limited Bjelica's playing time "as part of general manager Monte McNair’s plan to rebuild around De’Aaron Fox." Indeed, the 32-year-old has not played since January 9.
Head coach Luke Walton and other team officials said Bjelica missed Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers because of personal reasons. However, Anderson reported Bjelica does not have a personal issue.
Bjelica started 137 of his 149 appearances over the course of the previous two seasons. He averaged 11.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists during the 2019-2020 campaign, also shooting 41.9 percent from beyond the arc on 4.4 attempts per game.
The Kings have a bit of a conundrum on their hands. They seem intent on giving other, younger players minutes to see who should stick around Fox. Simultaneously, they risk possibly limiting Bjelica's value should they fail to give him adequate playing time.
Maybe playing time will not matter. Bjelica has value as a stretch-big who can spur ball movement at the point, and he could be of use to any number of teams. He is one to watch in the coming weeks.
All stats obtained via Basketball Reference, unless otherwise noted.
