Dallas Basketball

‘I Gave It My All’: Mavs Champion J.J. Barea Retires From Basketball

With J.J. Barea officially putting away his sneakers, could a move to the Dallas Mavericks’ bench as an assistant coach be next?

Dalton Trigg

When the Dallas Mavericks waived 2011 champion point guard and fan favorite J.J. Barea in 2020, it wasn’t a “goodbye,” but rather a “see you later.”

Last summer in Las Vegas, Barea reportedly talked with Mavs GM Nico Harrison about joining Dallas as a coach at some point. The details of that proposal weren’t ironed out, though, mainly because Barea wasn’t quite ready to completely retire from basketball. He’s been playing in the Puerto Rico basketball league over the last year.

One year later, according to a report out of Puerto Rico, it appears that Barea is ready to take that next step.

Editor’s note: The following interview has been translated from Spanish to English.

"I'm ready. Last year it worked my head and I wasn't ready,” said Barea. “This year, yes, and I am calm about finishing.

“I gave it my all. … To have the opportunity to finish in Puerto Rico, to play in all fields, and to enjoy it with my friends.”

Now, with Barea turning to the next chapter in his life, there’s a decent chance he could end up with the Mavericks once again.

“I know I like coaching. Every time I do it, I like it even more. It comes easy, comes natural,” said Barea last summer. “Especially here in Dallas. And especially with Dallas. It’s my home. The Dallas Mavericks are my team. I feel like I can really help.”

No matter what Barea’s official role might end up being, one thing is for sure: He would be welcomed back to Dallas with open arms, both by the franchise and the fan base.

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Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.

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