The Nets have five players coming off surgeries of some kind. Three have already suited up, and Seth Curry is not far behind.
T.J. Warren is the last, but out to prove he’s certainly not the least. The oft-injured forward is coming back from surgery for consecutive stress fractures in his left foot, and was a low-risk high-reward flier a a Nets free-agent signing.
“I’m doing everything I can. The training staff has been great and I like my progression. I’m on track so I’m excited about that,” said Warren, who has essentially missed the past two seasons.
Nets coach Steve Nash said the wing will be reassessed next month, and Warren himself said only that he’s progressing.
“I’m just excited to get back out there,” he said. “It’s been so long. So this [is] definitely exciting to do what I love to do. And I just can’t wait. I could just feel that itch. But [right now] we’re here to talk about the community, and basketball stuff, that will come.”
The community event was Warren handing out food nonprofit Wellfare’s “Eat & Move Better Boxes” Saturday afternoon to in-need families in Bushwick.
T.J. Warren USA TODAY SportsThe 29-year-old veteran was born in North Carolina, played college ball at North Carolina State and had spent his entire NBA career playing for Phoenix and Indiana, so coming to Brooklyn was an adjustment. But it was Nets orthopedic specialist Dr. Martin O’Malley who performed Warren’s surgery, so there was an added layer of familiarity — on both sides — for a player fighting his way back to form and a team taking a risk.
“Absolutely there’s definitely a comfort level [with] O’Malley actually being the team doctor here,” Warren said. “And he’s seen everything since Day 1, so kind of just like me being a peace of mind just knowing that he’s in my corner here.”
Ben Simmons, Edmond Sumner and Joe Harris have all played this season after returning from surgeries, and Curry is only a couple of practices away, according to Nash. The 6-foot-8, 220-pound Warren is a little more of an unknown quantity.
The skilled wing averaged almost 19.3 points over three combined seasons for the Suns and the Pacers from 2017-20, but logged just four appearances in 2020-21 and missed all of last season. He reportedly has been dealing with plantar fasciitis and ended up needing two surgeries to repair stress fractures, the latter by Dr. O’Malley.
The Nets, clearly keeping abreast of Warren’s situation and recovery prospects, handed him a low-risk minimum contract on July 7.
Warren had been among the best players in the NBA bubble in the summer of 2020, averaging 31.0 points on .578 percent shooting, 52.4 percent from behind the arc and 88.9 percent from the charity stripe — and 6.3 rebounds in six seeding games.
He backed that up with 20.0 points and 6.3 boards in Indiana’s 2021 playoff series against Miami. He’s a three-level scorer who could thrive in an offense with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Even if he never quite regains his peak form, a healthy Warren off the bench would help the Nets on the wing. But on Saturday, he was more focused on helping the Brooklyn community.
“Like I said before, this is my first [opportunity] doing something like this, so definitely want to do more in the community. Definitely be able to show my face as a Brooklyn Net, show that it is real, that being able to represent Brooklyn as a culture as a community, it’s a good thing to do,” Warren said.
“I’m an East Coast kid, so I’ve been coming up here my whole life. I remember playing tournaments up here Rumble in the Bronx, different types. Yeah, I’ve been coming up here for a while, so I’ve kind of got a grasp of the fast pace. It’s like a hoops heaven here. They love their hoops in New York.”







