Entering his first season as coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Rick Adelman figured he would have a former point guard shooting the ball extremely well for him from the shooting guard position.
Why wouldn’t he think that? The Timberwolves gave former Dallas Maverick undersized combo guard J.J. Barea a 4-year deal worth more than 19-million dollars during the condensed 2011 off-season.
The Timberwolves also acquired UCLA combo guard Malcom Lee in a draft night trade with the Chicago Bulls. Lee was expected to see significant playing time in his rookie season.
But much to the surprise of many in the Twin Cities, neither Barea nor the rookie Lee have been that undersized shooting guard putting up steady numbers alongside rookie point guard Ricky Rubio. Shockingly, Luke Ridnour has occupied the role Barea was expected to fill.
First off, I’m not going to assert that Barea has been a bust with the Timberwolves. Simply put, he’s just tapping into his inner Joe Mauer ...
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