Leandro Barbosa played seven seasons for the Phoenix Suns, and was a member of the 2010 team that finished the season two games away from making it to the NBA Finals.
Barbosa has bounced around since then, playing for the Raptors, Pacers and Celtics over the past three seasons.
The recent injury to Eric Bledsoe, along with the Suns being firmly entrenched as a realistic part of the playoff picture, has the team willing to sign a familiar veteran to see if he might work out on a short-term basis.
From Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic:The Suns are planning to sign former Suns favorite Leandro Barbosa to a 10-day contract to assess whether the 31-year-old guard can bolster the offense, especially in light of Eric Bledsoe’s knee injury.
Barbosa has not played in the NBA since Feb. 11, 2013, when he suffered a season-ending knee injury while playing for Boston when Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough was the assistant GM there. Barbosa was part of a later trade to Washington but the torn ACL made him just a salary-slotting part of the Jordan Crawford deal while he was at home rehabilitating in Brazil.
After going unsigned this season, Barbosa began playing for Pinheiros in Brazil to try to get his body ready for a NBA opportunity. Barbosa averaged 20.8 points, 3.1 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals in eight games while making half of his 3-pointers.Barbosa when healthy can contribute meaningful minutes on any NBA roster. It looks as though we’ll get the chance to see what he still has left to provide with the Suns, if only for just 10 days.