PHOENIX – The Suns have signed guard Leandro Barbosa (lee-AN-dro BAR-bow-sa) to a 10-day contract, the team has announced.
The 6-3, 194-pound Barbosa is a 10-year NBA veteran who played the first seven seasons of his NBA career with the Suns, averaging 12.6 points, 2.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 466 games with Phoenix from 2003-10. Barbosa won the 2006-07 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award with the Suns after posting career-highs of 18.1 points and 4.0 assists per game. The Suns advanced to the playoffs in five of Barbosa’s first seven seasons with the club as he ranks seventh in team history with 64 career playoff games, in which he averaged 10.2 points.
The 31-year-old guard has played for three NBA teams since being traded by Phoenix to Toronto in the summer of 2010, spending time with the Raptors (2010-12), Indiana Pacers (2011-12) and Boston Celtics (2012-13). Last season, Barbosa appeared in 41 games with the Celtics before suffering a torn ACL in his left knee on Feb. 11. He was traded to Washington on Feb. 21, but did not appear in a game with the Wizards as he recovered from injury.
A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, this season Barbosa averaged 15.9 points and 3.1 assists in eight games for Sao Paulo-based Pinheiros/Sky of the Brazilian League.
The Suns continue a season-long five-game road trip tonight as they prepare to face the Minnesota Timberwolves with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (Phoenix time). The game will be televised on FOX Sports Arizona and ESPN, and carried on Arizona Sports 620 (KTAR-AM).
The Suns’ roster now stands at 15.