Barea picks good time to be free agent

If Jose Juan Barea can keep blowing up defenses like he has been -- he's had two 20-point playoff games already off the bench -- he'll have a ring he can wear for her.

After that, Barea becomes a very coveted free agent, a nice bit of timing since the last two months is the finest he's ever played.

Where would he and his gluey handle (he's had his dribble picked only twice this entire season) like to go?

"I'd love to stay in Dallas, if possible," he says. "Especially if we win it all."

Of course, since Jason Kidd won't retire until 2050, he'd be stuck on the bench. He'd start nearly everywhere else, like, for instance, on the team he single-handedly ruined -- the Lakers.

"I've heard rumors," he says with a grin.

There's also talk about him going to the Knicks, which he loves, since "there are lots of Puerto Ricans there."

And what about this same Heat team he's trying to bust now? They need a penetrating guard (who doesn't?) and, after all, his girlfriend lives in Miami.

"Great city!" he says with that same grin.