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lieves will come. The wait allows time to remember those affirming playoff moments – not out of nostalgia, but because fans clamor anywhere he goes on the island of close to four million people.
"You gotta understand he's better than an icon in PR, he's like a god," says Alvarez. "The entire island was out and about watch- ing him. We're still celebrating, we're still pinching ourselves."
Two days after Dallas marched into Miami, emerged with a title and left owner Mark Cuban with a $110,000 bar tab in celebra- tion, President Barack Obama name-dropped the guard in his speech at San Juan's airport.
"Even in the NBA Finals, J.J. Barea inspired all of us with those drives to the hoop," said Obama. "That guy can play."
Dallas celebrated the champions, sure, but the Puerto Rican victory parade for Barea started at the same airport Obama spoke at and took two and a half hours to get to Old San Juan. Motorcycle police escorting his arrival snapped photos on their phones as they rode alongside.
"I can't even go to the beach," says Barea. "I used to be able to but not like this. If somebody hears that I'm there, it'll be crowded in five minutes."
And when they talk, they talk basket- ball. There have been only seven born in PR to play in the NBA, a list that includes Butch Lee (1979-80), Jose Ortiz (1989-90), Ramon Rivas (1989), Peter John Ramos (2005), Guillermo Diaz (2008), Arroyo, and Barea.
Basketball in Puerto Rico isn't close to its baseball history, led by Orlando Cepeda and Roberto Clemente. But now a Puerto Rican has won an NBA title, and momentum's pendulum swings toward the hardwood.
Or what about Miami? The Heat won't have Bibby and could be a place he could pick and roll all day with LeBron James and Chris Bosh. It is, after all, a hometown of sorts where his high school principal, coach and family members all watched from the stands in the final game, a finish Barea himself says "was a perfect setup. You couldn't write it any better."
Averaged per 36 minutes for the 2010-11 season, Barea was pro- jected to score 16.6 points, better than the averages of starting point guards Jameer Nelson (the next highest at 15.5), Raymond Felton, Andre Miller, Darren Collison, Jose Calderon, and Mike Conley, to name a few. Barea had more assists than Conley, Col- lison and Rodney Stuckey.
"I run across maybe 20 Division I NCAA coaches who congratulate me on J.J. f and say the
ollowing: 'Wow did I make a mistake not recruiting
that kid.'" ART ALVAREZ
Reminders are nearby. Barea doesn't have the Larry O'Brien Trophy around, but the ESPY's Best Team award rests on his cof- fee table. An hour before a Converse-sponsored clinic hosted by Barea and Arroyo, 500 kids had already shown up.
"You can ask around," says Barea. "It changed. It changed. Carlos was a big part of it, and Piculin Ortiz was a big part of it, and now me. People love it. Kids love it."
THOSE WHO CAN'T
"They have no idea," says Alvarez. "If the kid averaged almost double figures in only 19 minutes, what's he going to do playing 35 per game?"
Zone defenses and relaxed hand- check rules have paved lanes to the hoop for smaller guards, and teams are putting point guard production high on their priority list. It's reached the NBA Draft, where three guards 6-4 or shorter have gone No. 1 since 2008. As research by Sports Illustrated found, a guard that small was taken first just once in the previous 61 years. Now Kyrie Irving, John Wall and Der- rick Rose aren't just seen as distribu- tors, but first or second options.
It pays to be offensive these days.
His backers liken Barea's breakout to the tip of an iceberg, but is there enough belief in what lies beneath the surface to warrant a big deal?
"I feel one of the 30 teams would take chance on him," says Lawson, "which would be a smart thing."
Barea is a deft politician on the subject, not wanting to offend Dallas while still keeping an eye for suitors
come free agency. He's also noncommittal on playing overseas ("There are always going to be options in Europe, but I just won a championship with Dallas"), not wanting to blow maybe his best chance to get a big contract.
"I think I have earned it," says Barea. "I think I could do it. But my situation is great in Dallas. I like my role. I like coming off the bench. I like starting sometimes. As long as I can help the team like I did this year, I'm all right with whatever I have to do."
contact him are NBA general managers looking to make a deal.
Barea speaks often about his loyalty to Dallas for the opportuni- ty he now has, but would he accept a sixth man role until Jason Kidd retires? He is one of six free agents the Mavericks must consider, including integral championship parts Stevenson and Tyson Chandler.
In the lockout scenario NBA players live in now, Barea has to find ways to stay busy until business resumes. There are workouts to attend and camps to lead. Blessings to accept. Opportunities to retrace just how he got here and, if he can see through the crush around him, chances to peer ahead to his next destination.
He won't get there unseen, but he hopes that's because the party has followed him.
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