J.J. Barea Wants To Coach With The Mavericks When Playing Career Ends

Saying goodbye is hard. This past week, the Dallas Mavericks requested waivers on long-time fan favorite J.J. Barea, releasing him from the team. In a series of press conferences Thursday, General Manager Donnie Nelson and Head Coach Rick Carlisle extolled Barea’s character and impact with the organization. Barea himself choked up as he spoke about his connection to the Mavs and city of Dallas.

The parting is mutual, though, all parties noted. Barea wants to continue his career as a player and the Mavericks have too many players under contract. Something had to give. While Barea won’t end his playing days in Dallas, he’s leaving the door open to return in a different capacity.

“In the future, I would love to come back and help this team again,” Barea said. “My goal is to coach at the highest level and I know I’ll be great, especially here in Dallas.”

It’s not just Barea that has confidence in his ability to transition to coaching. Carlisle, who coached him for nine seasons, says he thinks coaching will be a good fit for Barea if that’s the next career path he takes after his playing days end.

“He has all the tools to be a successful coach, there’s no doubt about that,” Carlisle said. “The automatic respect of really a legendary playing career, not many guys have that when they decide to get into coaching. Jason Kidd had it. Steve Nash has it. But not everybody has it. That’s a big thing. He has great leadership abilities, he has leadership presence, he communicates well with players and with people. Those are all tools that are vital for success in coaching.”

When Barea, 36, does make the move, he’s sure to garner interest around the league. However, with his ties to the Mavericks, it seems predestined that he’ll turn to Dallas first. Nelson will make certain of that.

“I think, at the right time, when he’s ready to have those engagements and conversations, we’ll certainly be the first ones at the table,” Nelson said.

Barea spent 11 seasons with the Mavericks, the pinnacle coming when he played a pivotal role in helping the franchise win its lone NBA championship in 2011. In recent years, he saw his playing time decrease as he battled injuries and saw the team add younger players at his position.

Still, Barea remained steadfast, continuing to sign with the Mavericks, taking one-year, veteran’s minimum deals to stay in Dallas. At the end of last season, as the Mavericks returned from the NBA’s bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, Barea expressed his interest in continuing his playing career. However, in an interview he mentioned that the organization wanted to shift him into a coaching role.

“If it is going to be in Dallas, I know what they want is to move me to coach,” Barea told El Nuevo Dia. “If I want to play basketball, I have to go the other way.”

Barea chose the other way. Another team hasn’t swooped in to sign him yet, but that doesn’t mean he’ll start the season on the sidelines. The veteran point guard said that he received text messages from around the league the day word got out that he was leaving Dallas.

While fans may have seen the last of Barea in the home locker room at the American Airlines Center, Barea considers Dallas his home, second only to Puerto Rico. So, this isn’t Barea’s final goodbye. He’ll be back. When he returns, he may find a home on the Mavericks’ bench again. Only this time, he’ll be in a suit and tie.

“I definitely want to play this year, take a break after with the family, enjoy my kids,” Barea said. “I want to stay around the game. And yeah, definitely I want to come back not as a player, as a coach—anything—and end up coaching at some point.”

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