The Nets signed free-agent small forward T.J. Warren to a one-year deal. It was a marriage of a team in need of bargain talent and a player in need of a fresh start.
The news was first reported by The Athletic and confirmed by The Post.
While the Nets were decimated by Kyrie Irving’s unavailability last season, Warren has only played four games over the past two years thanks to consecutive stress fractures in his left foot. But the 28-year-old is a low-risk flier, one who can pay off huge for Brooklyn if he returns to form.
It’s unclear if Warren was on a veteran minimum (which seems likely), or took up part of Brooklyn’s taxpayer Mid-Level Exception.
Warren – who was also reportedly being targeted by the Lakers – hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since December 2020, but he has considerable upside and was a solid starter on a playoff team before suffered a stress fracture in the navicular bone of his left foot.
He averaged 19.8 points per game in 2019-20 while shooting 53.6 percent overall and 40.3 percent from behind the 3-point arc. And he was one of the best players in the Orlando Bubble, averaging 26.6 points in his 10 games.
Warren averaged 31 points in six seeding games, including a 53-point eruption.
One of Brooklyn’s biggest needs – even before Kevin Durant requested a trade and Irving’s departure became a forgone conclusion – was size on the perimeter. Lack of proven size on the wing led to the since-departed 6-foot-4 Bruce Brown being forced to start at small forward, and Irving, Seth Curry and Patty Mills having to log significant minutes against a far bigger Boston team in a first-round sweep.
If fit, Warren will help that. He’s a versatile 6-foot-8 scorer who has always been strong attacking the rim, but has developed his outside shot as time has gone on. He shot 42.8 percent and 40.3 percent from deep in his last two full seasons before his injury.
