Although Indiana Pacers guard T.J. Warren has recovered from consecutive stress fractures in his left foot and returned to full basketball activities, he will sit out Indiana’s final 12 games and prepare for the 2022-23 season, sources told ESPN.
Warren, 28, has missed the entirety of this season and played only four games in 2020-21 with the stress fractures. He has fully recovered now, but discussions between the Pacers and his representatives concluded that returning to play so late in a season that won’t include playoffs for the Pacers made less sense than starting preparations for next year.
The Pacers are 23-47 and 13th in the Eastern Conference standings.
Warren — who averaged nearly 20 points on 53% shooting in 2019-20 — will become an unrestricted free agent this summer and is expected to be one of the better perimeter players available.
Warren played his first five NBA seasons with the Phoenix Suns before a trade to Indiana in 2019. He has averaged 15.5 points a game in his career.