Mavs' Barea launches campaign for Hurricane Maria victims

J.J. Barea is looking to give back to his homeland of Puerto Rico.

The Dallas Mavericks point guard and his wife, Viviana Ortiz, have organized a relief fund to help those affected by Hurricane Maria on the same platform used by Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt.

"It's completely dark over there," Barea told ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "No phone service, no power, no water, no nothing. We're trying our best right now to help, and whenever we've got contact with (family), make a plan and start helping over the next couple of days and next couple of weeks."

Barea's fund has raised $79,680 as of Thursday, which is nearly 80 percent of its original goal of $100,000.

"The money is going to go straight to my foundation," Barea said. "I'm going to be the one handling it. We're going to go straight to the people that need it. We're not going to give it to anybody else. It's going to go straight to where it needs to be. I've got my people in Puerto Rico, and we'll know who really needs the most help and go from there."