FanHouse JJ Barea

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

This weekend in Las Vegas, Manny Pacquiao will face Miguel Cotto in what is being described as one of the biggest fights of the year. In the locker room of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, the fight is the talk of the town. In this video, we catch up with Maverick JJ Barea, who tells us why he thinks his good friend Cotto will beat Pacquiao. We also get Mark Cuban's prediction and learn from Kris Humphries which Dallas star would make a great fighter.

Check out the video after the jump.

The news that Mark Cuban forced German superstar Dirk Nowitzki to skip this summer's Eurobasket tournament was tempered by the fact that Cuban and Nowitzki brokered that deal last summer on the basis that Dirk has given his summers to the national team forever. But the case of Puerto Rican Maverick J.J. Barea isn't quite as tidy.

Barea had shoulder surgery in May, and feels as though he is back to 100%. He's eager to represent FIBA Americas host P.R., hoping to help his team win a place in the 2010 World Championships. But Cuban has denied Barea permission to participate. Barea told a Puerto Rican newspaper that the Mavs decree was "the worst news I've been given."

Some things figure. The Southwest Division is considered the NBA's toughest – or at least it is by some – so it's no wonder most of the teams in it aren't involved at the top of the draft.

One team isn't involved at all. But the Memphis Grizzlies – selecting at No. 2 – in some ways will dictate the direction of the thing. Will the Grizz take Ricky Rubio or not? That's the big question.