Will T.J. Warren be with the Indiana Pacers next season?

T.J. Warren has been an interesting person to cover in Indiana since he joined the Indiana Pacers. His playmaking and shot creation had fans excited about a free agent acquisition that was on a team-friendly deal.

That was years ago.

T.J. Warren was an upcoming scorer in this league before getting hurt and missing two seasons. Will the Indiana Pacers bring him back?

The short answer is I think they would like to on a deal that is mutually beneficial to the team. After not seeing Warren on the court since the beginning of last season (2020-21), I would imagine the difficulty in offering a multi-year deal.

Kevin Pritchard made some mention of this in a press conference this season.

"“The truth is if all healthy we don’t know what this team could’ve been. You can’t keep saying well if we’re healthy we’re gonna be a really good team. There’s a point in time when you say enough is enough and you go in a different direction.”"

I am not sure if Warren is included in that different direction at this point. I think the best option is to offer him a one-year deal for him to prove himself on the court which is fair for both parties.

However, Warren is an unrestricted free agent and he could easily walk away from Indiana if another team comes with a bigger offer than the Indiana Pacers are comfortable giving.

Warren has also expressed his interest in remaining in Indiana in several reports since his injury and rehab process began. He has also been super transparent to the fans of Pacers basketball throughout the entire process.

I don’t recall any former or current players taking the time to reach out to the fans directly on social media to discuss an injury or the process of rehab.

"“Pacer fans. Just wanted you to hear this straight from me. I’m making sure I do this rehab process right so that I can get back on the court as soon as I can and be the best that I can”"

In his last full season with the Pacers, which was also the first and only year of his three-year deal, Warren played 67 games. He averaged 19.8 points per game and shot 40.3% from deep on 3.4 attempts.

His three-point game really expanded later on in that 2019-20 season that was delayed. Then he became notorious in the NBA bubble before the Pacers were swept by the Miami Heat in the playoffs that season. He averaged 20 PPG in that series.

He had surgery on his foot 477 days ago and hasn’t played a game since.

Warren is a scorer and he became a solid defender under Dan Burke in his first season. If the Indiana Pacers can find a way to keep him on a new team-friendly deal, they should explore that option this offseason.