JULY 16TH, 10:05am: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
JULY 6TH, 3:47pm: J.J. Barea will re-sign with the Mavericks, he tells Carlos Rosa Rosa of El Nuevo Dia (hat tip to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com). Rosa indicates that it’s a three-year pact with annual salaries of $2.8MM and a player option on year three, though a third year would require the team to use cap space instead of the $2.814MM room exception. Berger and TNT’s David Aldridge indicate that it’s just two years at $5.6MM total (Twitter link), which would fit within the exception, seemingly a necessity if the Mavs are to fit all of their agreements under the cap without pulling off salary-clearing maneuvers.
The Mavs and Barea had been nearing a deal since late last week, as Aldridge first reported, though it seemed just a couple of days prior that he was close to signing with the Heat. The Bulls and Lakers also reportedly had interest in the client of Dan Fegan, an agent with close ties to the Mavs.
Dallas has Non-Bird rights on Barea, but they only provide for 120% of the minimum, since he signed for the minimum with the Mavs after he cleared waivers from the Timberwolves at the beginning of the season. Thus, the Mavs appear to be turning to other means to keep the waterbug point guard in the fold.