Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has loaned the team plane to J.J. Barea for the transport of food, water and supplies after the veteran point guard’s native Puerto Rico was recently decimated by Hurricane Maria.
Barea left Monday afternoon and plans to return Tuesday night, missing the first day of Mavs training camp.
“I was really proud of J.J. and how quickly he got involved and how hard he worked to make all of this happen,” Cuban told ESPN in a text message.
Said coach Rick Carlisle, “That’s a situation that he’s got to take care of. Mark gave him our team plane. They loaded up a bunch of stuff, supplies, to take over to Puerto Rico, and they’re going to turn around and come back. He’s going to take his mom and grandmother back with him, and my understanding is his dad is going to stay over there and slug it out with all of the recovery efforts.”
Barea, who has raised roughly $140,000 through fundraising to buy the supplies, reportedly did not have any communication with his parents until Sunday, four days after the Category 4 storm laid waste to Puerto Rico. In addition to major flooding, much of the island remains without electricity and phone service.
