While Golden State Warriors big man DeMarcus Cousins is finally returning from a year-long rehab from a torn Achilles on Friday night, the journey of Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea is just beginning.
Barea tore his Achilles in the Mavs' win over the Minnesota Timberwolves last Friday, ending his season and potentially ending his tenure with Dallas, as his contract expires this summer.
The floor general underwent surgery on Monday, and Friday he told the media that his recovery from the injury will last six to nine months, according to Mavs beat writer Dwain Price.
That is actually not bad at all, as the recovery time for a torn Achilles is generally around a year.
Well, not bad relatively speaking, of course, as this is still a devastating injury that will probably alter Barea's career forever. And who knows if the veteran even meets this timetable.
On the season, Barea was averaging 10.9 points, 5.6 assists and 2.5 rebounds over 19.8 minutes per game off the bench while shooting 41.8 percent from the floor, 29.7 percent from 3-point range and 70.5 percent from the free-throw line.
The 34-year-old is in his second stint with the Mavs, as he originally played for Dallas from 2006-07 through 2010-11, capping his first run with the team with an NBA Finals win over the Miami Heat, a series in which Barea hit numerous big shots, including a back-breaking 3-pointer late in the Finals-clinching Game 6 victory.
He then spent three seasons with the Timberwolves before returning to the Mavs during the summer of 2014.
J.J. Barea owns career averages of 9.0 points, 3.9 assists and 2.1 boards across 19.7 minutes a night.
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