Barbosa out for a month after surgery to remove cyst

PHOENIX -- Leandro Barbosa, the Suns' struggling backup guard, is expected to miss a month after undergoing surgery to remove a cyst from the wrist on his shooting hand.

The cyst had been drained, but it returned, so Barbosa and the Suns decided to have it removed, general manager Steve Kerr said Saturday night before the Warriors-Suns game.

Barbosa, once one of the NBA's most reliable bench scorers, has averaged a modest 10.6 points on 42 percent shooting (just 33 percent on 3-pointers).

Over the previous four seasons, he'd averaged 15.4 points on 47 percent shooting, including 41 percent on 3-pointers. In 2006-07, he was the runaway winner of the NBA's sixth man award.

This season, he's already missed 15 games with ankle and wrist problems.

"The wrist was affecting his shooting because of the pain, so I think he'll be really relieved with the pain gone," Kerr said.

"He's been trying to shoot through it, and you can see it's really swollen.

"He hasn't had the flexibility to get the ball in the right position. That's one of the reasons he's struggling.

"It's important for us to get this right for his peace of mind. I'm confident once he's back to normal, you'll see the same L.B. that we've all seen."

Jason Richardson will return to his starting role -- Barbosa had been starting recently in an attempt to get his game going -- while point guard Goran Dragic and small forward Jared Dudley will get more time at off guard.