Free Agent Former 20 PPG Lottery Pick Ready For NBA Return

After scoring close to 20 points per game for three straight seasons, the former lottery pick missed essentially two full seasons from 2020-22 due to foot injuries and then was slow to regain his form last year. Now, TJ Warren says he's "100% healthy" and ready to rejoin an NBA team. 

Free agent forward TJ Warren is 100 percent healthy and eying an NBA return. The 30-year-old forward discussed how he can help a playoff team, the bubble, behind the scenes playing with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons on the Nets, and more.

👉🏼 https://t.co/MSwDjv7j85 pic.twitter.com/8jnfH4zn5B

— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) November 24, 2023

Warren, 30, told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype:

Adversity happens. It doesn’t define you. At the end of the day, it’s all about how you bounce back from it. I feel like I bounced back from it, and a lot of people didn’t think I’d be able to play again. I proved those people wrong, and I want to continue to prove people wrong.

I think I can provide experience, a crazy work ethic, and be somebody that comes in and goes hard at all levels. I can connect with the young guys and be a veteran presence. This will be my 10th season, so I’ve been around for a while. I feel like I’m a lead-by-example type of guy. 

I’m 100 percent healthy now. 

His plan is to join a playoff-bound team and be a scorer off the bench, but also provide solid two-way play. 

"I can see myself helping playoff teams get over the hump and be a presence on both ends of the floor. I take pride in being a two-way player." 

His comeback season last year was slow going, as he averaged 7.5 points and 2.9 boards for the Brookyln Nets and the Phoenix Suns (the team that originally drafted him with the 14th overall pick in 2014). He hasn't gotten any bites yet this season, but he knows he's ready. 

Overall, Warren has averaged 14.6 points and 4.0 rebounds on 50.6 percent shooting during his 374 career games. 

Photo: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports