Ex-Lottery pick, 20 PPG scorer mentioned as possible Boston Celtics signing
By Sam LaFrance
After waiving Justin Champagnie earlier this month, the Boston Celtics have two roster spots just waiting to be filled. The Cs are reportedly looking to use one of them on Blake Griffin, who is a bit conflicted about coming back.
Even if Griffin returns, there’s still room for Boston to add one more contributor as they look to win Banner 18. There haven’t been a ton of names linked to the Celtics in the past few weeks, but The Athletic’s Jay King did have a few suggestions as part of a recent article.
One of King’s potential fits for the final spot is former lottery pick T.J. Warren.
“T.J. Warren had a down season after dealing with serious injury issues but has long been able to put the ball in the basket,” King wrote.
Should the Boston Celtics look to add T.J. Warren in free agency?
Sure, why not?
Warren is a player who’s had success in the league and is still relatively young — or maybe just not old. By the start of next season, he’ll be 30 years old.
Even at that age, he could probably give the Celtics a little something off of the bench. The wing spot has been one where Boston has lacked depth in recent seasons. Although, Sam Hauser seems primed for a larger role this year, after a solid 2022-23 campaign.
Only three seasons ago, he averaged just under 20 points per game for the Indiana Pacers. The problem is that, since then, he hasn’t been able to stay on the court.
Warren played four games in the 2020-21 season, missed the entire 2021-22 season, then appeared in 42 games last year, split between the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns.
In those games, he averaged 7.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting 48.9% from the field and 32.9% from distance.
There may not actually be a place for the veteran wing in the NBA at this point. Just think about it. The Suns gutted all of their depth in order to land Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards, and still didn’t look to bring back Warren after trading for him last season.
What does that say about his ability to contribute to a winning team?