A former NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks is heading to Denver.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania on Tuesday, J.J. Barea is joining the Nuggets as an assistant coach on David Adelman’s staff.
Barea has head coaching experience in his native Puerto Rico and also served as a player development coach for Dallas in 2021. Reports emerged last week of Denver’s potential interest in Barea.
Barea, 41, last played in the NBA during the 2019-20 season, the year after he suffered a torn right Achilles. He has since played on professional teams in Spain and Puerto Rico.
Mavericks
After going undrafted in 2006, Barea impressed the Mavericks enough as a member of the Golden State Warriors’ summer league team for Dallas to sign him. He would spend the next five years of his career with the Mavericks, culminating as a key role player on the 2011 title team.
After leaving in free agency, spending the next three seasons in Minnesota, Barea returned to the Mavericks in 2014 and spent the final six seasons of his NBA career in Dallas.
Barea appeared in 831 regular season games (107 starts) over his 14 NBA seasons. He averaged 8.9 points, 3.9 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game.
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