Ranking former Timberwolves players in NBA playoffs

Apr 15, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea (5) dribbles the ball past Portland Trail Blazers guard Steve Blake (5) during the second quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

5. J.J. Barea – Dallas Mavericks

Barea made a name for himself in the 2010-11 playoffs as he helped propel the Dallas Mavericks to an NBA Finals victory over Dwayne Wade’s Miami Heat. The diminutive combo guard even started three Finals games and was suddenly a hot commodity around the league after a mediocre stretch of seasons prior to his age-26 breakout.

He was a hot enough commodity that David Kahn and the Timberwolves handed over a four-year contract to a 27 year-old, sub-six-feet point guard that doesn’t play defense. He had the worst three years of his career in Minnesota, seeing his three-point percentage fall from 37.1 to 34.6 to 31.6 in consecutive seasons with the Wolves.

After Minnesota inked Mo Williams prior to this season, Flip Saunders elected to buy out Barea at the end of training camp and he immediately latched on with former head coach and old friend Rick Carlisle and the Mavs.

And sure enough, Barea was quite serveciable for the Mavericks this season. He played just 17.7 minutes per game this season — lowest in his career since the 2008-09 campaign. Barea also didn’t shoot threes that much better than in Minnesota (32.3%), but slashed his turnover rate all the way to 10.8%. His career turnover rate is 15.1%, so the cut is significant.

Next: Another Former Wolves Point Guard