Tuesday 20 August 2019 06:40, UK
Veteran point guard JJ Barea re-signed with the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, the team announced.
Contract terms were not provided, but Barea told ESPN that it was a one-year deal.
The 6ft, 185lb Barea sustained a season-ending ruptured right Achilles tendon in a January 11 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he expects to be cleared to for full participation during training camp.
A return by September would be considerably sooner than most comebacks from such an injury, which generally take a full year.
In his 13th year in the league, with all but three of those seasons in Dallas, Barea averaged 10.9 points and 5.6 assists as the Mavericks' sixth man in 2018-19.
His averages during his career with Dallas and Minnesota include 9.0 points, 3.9 assists and 19.7 minutes in 802 games (101 starts). He was a member of the Mavericks in 2011, when they won their first NBA title.
A native of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, Barea, 35, was signed by the Mavericks as a rookie free agent in 2006 after getting bypassed in the NBA Draft. He attended Northeastern, where he averaged 21.0 points, 8.4 assists and 4.4 rebounds during his senior season.
