It’s official, José Juan Barea has retired! The 38-year-old judged it was time for him to hang up his sneakers, following a final season spent at home in Puerto Rico. Historical element in Dallas since he played twelve years in Texas, he had also made a three-season trip to Wolves. A quick look back at a career punctuated by the title in 2011.
JJ Barea, it is this kind of name that some know without finally knowing. We read it in match recaps, in some papers and sometimes we even saw it at the bend of a top 10 at coffee time. However, he is not the player for whom the TV was specially turned on in the middle of the night. Nevertheless, over the years he had become someone we had grown accustomed to seeing. When he left the big league in 2021 to join Estudiantes Madrid, we already suspected very strongly that this departure sounded like a sayonara. After a few months in Spain, the boy chose to join one of his debut clubs, Cangrejeros de Santurce. As far as the NBA is concerned, he leaves behind a very respectable career as a lieutenant, with overall averages of 8.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists. A leader capable of making a reliable contribution to scoring, he will also and above all have been one of the architects of the Mavericks’ title in 2011. Once the ring is in his pocket, the pressure goes down very logically as regards the feeling of accomplishment such as it is described by dear Abraham Maslow. He will do three seasons in Minnesota, but what do you want… Texas wins you over. He will return to Dallas in 2015, until 2021. Jiji went through the local newspaper The new day to announce the fateful news.
” I’m ready. Last year wasn’t easy mentally, and I wasn’t decided yet. I had a great time in Puerto Rico this season with my friends, and I’m now at peace with retiring. »
– JJ Barea
However, he should not move away from basketball right away. As a reminder, faced with a lack of contract on the table at the end of the 2020-21 season, he very briefly became a coach at the Mavericks within the player development team. A position he will leave almost immediately to join Estudiantes. However, this experience does not seem to have been in vain since Barea might well find a place soon in the organization chart of the Texan franchise. In any case, his will was clearly going in this direction at the time. While waiting to find out what will be next for him on this side, we of course advise him to cut a little, to take advantage and above all to appreciate the progress made. The best would be on a beach in Puerto Rico, with a little cocktail at sunset… no, we’re not dreaming regarding that at the moment, what are you insinuating.
Happy 38th birthday, JJ Barea!
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) June 26, 2022
Happy retirement José Juan! We risk in any case to meet once more one day but there is no hurry, many white sand beaches are still waiting to be trodden. And then of course there are also a few barbecue evenings to do, don’t forget that it’s summer. Come on, next time!
Source : ESPN, El Nuevo Dia via The Athletic