If there is one guarantee you can make in terms of how the Wolves handle their often confusing annual set of roster transactions, it is that the team will often do whatever makes the least sense. Armed with the cap space equivalent of the mid-level exception, the Wolves today have signed JJ Barea, the bench sparkplug for the defending champion Dallas Mavericks, to a contract believed to be 4 years and $19 million.
JJ Barea is a nice player, but make no mistakes, he a prototype guy who benefited from a few magical playoff games and, due to said spotlight, received a larger-than-deserved long term contract. This happens year after year. He is a scrappy little guard, who, while being unable to throw a rock into the ocean, is very quick on his feet and can penetrate the lane with the best of them. But the big question one should be asking is: ‘why?’ Surely this means the Wolves will trade Ridnour in a package deal with some of our frontcourt characters in order to align the roster? Don’t count on it. As always, this is a very Kahn-like, Kahnfusing move. I can’t kahnprehend how this helps the Wolves kahnpounding rotation problem. How will this help the Wolves’ position in the Western Kahnference? What does Barea bring to the Kahnversation? A team desperately in need of a high quality shooting guard who can dribble, goes out and signs its 3rd point guard, which does nothing but make an already mystifying rotation even more muddled?
Color me Kahnfused.
As a positive, Barea does have a nice skillset that IS pretty void on the team as of today: ballhandling. The problem is, where does he play? Does Adelman dare play Barea at the 2 in hopes of adding some much, much needed dribble penetration from the wings? (Don’t fool yourself into thinking Wes Johnson is going to become a ballhandler any time soon). Could be. I guess we will have to see what kahnfusing move Kahn has up his sleeve as free agency continues. Just count on one thing: he will probably do whatever makes the least sense.