How is T.J. Warren? Checking in with his mentor, David West
Warren will soon be an unrestricted free agent. He did not play in a game last season due to a stress fracture in his left foot.
It’s an important summer for T.J. Warren. Not only is he looking forward to playing in the NBA again, but he’s also an unrestricted free agent.
However, it’s been 18 months since he last played in a game due to injury.
It’s been quiet and mysterious, ever since last fall when the team announced that he would not be ready for the start of training camp and was out indefinitely. Then in March, it was mutually agreed upon that he would return home to Raleigh for the final month of the season.
When he was healthy, Warren was a big contributor. Pacers fans will never forget his performances in the Orlando bubble. He averaged 31 points and shot 53.4 percent from range on his way to earning First Team bubble honors.
He averaged a career-high 19.8 points and 4.2 rebounds during the 2019-20 season, his first with the Pacers after being acquired on draft night from the Suns for cash considerations.
He was a steal.
But then he played in just four games over the final two years of his contract.
Warren’s contract with the Pacers expires after Thursday and he’s free to sign with any team. He’ll be 29 years old before the season and we haven’t seen him play, at least in practice, since early February. (See the video below.)
Searching for an update before free agency arrived, I called his trusted friend and mentor David West on Wednesday.