J.J. Barea reportedly leaning towards signing with Heat

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Perhaps still haunted by visions of him carving them up in the 2011 NBA Finals, the Miami Heat have offered a free-agent contract to J.J. Barea, and the reserve point guard is leaning towards accepting, according to TNT's David Aldridge.

The 6-foot, 31-year-old waterbug averaged 7.5 points and 3.4 assists, with a career-best 15.1 PER off the bench for the Dallas Mavericks in 2014-15.

Point guard was a weak spot for the Heat for much of last season, though they shored the position up at the trade deadline by dealing for Goran Dragic, whom they've reportedly signed to a five-year, $90-million extension.

Barea's arrival would ostensibly make at least one of Dragic's backups - either veteran Mario Chalmers or sophomore-to-be Shabazz Napier - expendable.

With an expected free-agent contract for Dwyane Wade likely to push the Heat into the luxury tax, being able to dangle those pieces could be one of the few means they have of improving the roster on the margins.