A few weeks ago, the New York Knicks signed TJ Warren to a contract for training camp. But the franchise waived the 2012-14 NC State basketball star forward ahead of the regular season after he saw limited action in only three preseason appearances.
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Last season, Warren averaged a career-low 3.7 points for the Minnesota Timberwolves across only 11 regular season games. Even so, he’s still only 31 years old, and he boasts career NBA averages of 14.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per outing, not to mention all of his veteran qualities plus career shooting percentages of 50.5 from the field, 35.1 from three, and 78.0 at the charity stripe.
Moreover, it was only earlier this decade that TJ Warren averaged 19.8 pointes per game for an Indiana Pacers squad that finished 45-28 and No. 4 in the Eastern Conference standings.
With all of the above in mind, it’s no surprise the Knicks aim to keep the 2013-14 ACC Player of the Year and No. 14 overall draft pick within reach by employing his services on their G League squad in Westchester, N.Y.
This week, as the regular season gets underway across the NBA, league insider Ian Begley broke down the latest regarding Warren’s status and outlook with the Knicks:
“With the [Landry] Shamet situation up in the air [due to injury], the Knicks didn’t have cap space under the second apron for T.J. Warren. Warren had support among some Knicks coaches and front office members to make the regular-season roster. He is going to join the Knicks’ G League team in Westchester, SNY has learned, as he’ll likely be in the mix to rejoin the club during the season.”
As things stand, the only former NC State basketball players on NBA rosters are Philadelphia 76ers forward Caleb Martin and Charlotte Hornets forward Cody Martin. That said, Nevada enjoys a deeper claim to those twins, as they transferred from the Wolfpack to Wolf Pack following their sophomore campaigns in Raleigh and took their games to new heights over two seasons in Reno.
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Stay tuned to NC State Wolfpack On SI for more NC State basketball news.
