The Dallas Mavericks pursued J.J. Barea at the beginning of the summer, and Barea has remained open to a return to the team with which he won the 2011 NBA championship.

"It's a great relationship with Mark Cuban. If they want to bring me back to Dallas, I am very [good] with it," Barea said. "But I'm happy in Minnesota. They're the ones that wanted me there, the ones that signed me for four years, so until they decide to trade me, I'm going to give them all my effort in the games."

Barea is confident that the Timberwolves can have a resurgent season as long as the core stays healthy.

"We have a great team," Barea said, citing Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love. "We also have Kevin Martin and new guys. Our problem is that we haven't been able to maintain ourselves healthy. If we stay healthy, we see ourselves in the playoffs."