TJ Warren eyes NBA return: ‘I’m 100 percent healthy now’

TJ Warren: Every day, I’m working out, staying sharp, and staying ready. I’m continuing to do everything I can to prepare myself physically and mentally. All is well. I’m continuing to control what I can right now.

TJW: I think I can provide experience, a crazy work ethic, and be somebody that comes in and goes hard at all levels. I can connect with the young guys and be a veteran presence. This will be my 10th season, so I’ve been around for a while. I feel like I’m a lead-by-example type of guy.

TJW: There are a lot of teams that can use bench scoring for sure. I watch the NBA every day, and I’m watching to see where I can see myself helping playoff teams get over the hump and be a presence on both ends of the floor. I take pride in being a two-way player. I know a lot of people doubt my defensive ability because I score easily. I take pride on both ends of the floor. There are definitely a lot of playoff teams I can contribute to and make an impact.

TJW: I’m 100 percent healthy now. The foot injuries were a part of my career during those two years. I feel like I was reaching a crazy pinnacle right around the bubble. It was a great situation. Unfortunately, I had the injuries, and it set me back a little bit. I want to go out there and prove myself like I always have my whole career, being kind of under the radar. I feel like my production speaks for itself. I understand the concerns because two years was a long time, especially when you don’t know the situation thoroughly, but I’m completely healthy now and looking forward to the opportunity to prove myself again.

TJW: During those two years, there was a lot of uncertainty, but I knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I continued to embrace the process of trying to get back on my feet. I was proud of myself for accomplishing that. Brooklyn gave me that opportunity to come back and be able to play again. That was a crazy moment. I knew coming into it there was going to be a rocky comeback, being out so long and coming to a new organization, getting to play with new players and re-introducing myself to the game again. It was a step in the right direction and something I wanted to build on.

TJW: It says I persevered through it. Adversity happens. It doesn’t define you. At the end of the day, it’s all about how you bounce back from it. I feel like I bounced back from it, and a lot of people didn’t think I’d be able to play again. I proved those people wrong, and I want to continue to prove people wrong.

TJW: Absolutely. That was all about the situation and timing. That’s the league today. You see, guys have moments and understand their role. If more opportunities come, they take advantage of it. In the bubble, it was a great situation for me. I was able to be myself as a scorer. We had guys out throughout those games, and I was able to take advantage of it. I wasn’t surprised. I knew how much time and effort I put into the game to be able to showcase that.

TJW: I remember coming into the bubble we had guys battling injuries. Our All-Star big Domantas Sabonis didn’t play. Victor Oladipo was coming back from his leg surgery and still working his way back. I remember my teammates trusting me and giving me a lot of confidence to be super aggressive. I was locked in. We were rolling. I wanted to take advantage of that opportunity because a lot of guys don’t get a chance to showcase that.

Being in the bubble was like one big market. I’m sure there were a lot of people who weren’t used to watching the Pacers that had to watch the Pacers because we were all playing in one market.

TJW: I’ve been playing this game for the love of it more than I’ve been making money. There was never any doubt in my mind that I was going to say, I made my money and take it easy. I always pride myself on wanting to get better every year and finding ways to stay in love with the game. I understand things happen. Adversity happens. Political stuff is part of the game, too. I try to weather the storm through all that. I’m still in love with the game today. I still play and work out every day. I try to find runs to stay in shape. I go to the track to run and stay ready.

TJW: It meant a lot. Brooklyn’s medical staff was amazing. Brooklyn was a fun experience coming back from the injury. It was tough not having a training camp or practices and having to learn on the fly there. I started mid-December. There were a lot of emotions. It was basketball at the end of the day and something I love to do my whole life. I was playing pretty solid, I felt. I was building every month, starting to get my legs up under me and feel like myself every month.

TJW: That was a fun experience. It was like basketball Heaven being able to be around All-Stars to see how they approached the game every day, their mindset and mentality coming into a game every day. I look at myself as a hooper. Seeing them, they were really locked in. Ben was coming off his injury and trying to find his way.

I wish we would’ve finished it out together and seen what we could’ve done, but sometimes there’s business in basketball that you can’t control. Overall, it was a fun experience being around those types of players.

TJW: We were playing super well. Everybody was starting to gel a little bit. Unfortunately, injuries and the business of basketball happened. Being able to catch our stride amid a long season was one of those things where we were rolling at the time, and it was fun. I felt if we stayed together, we could’ve made some things happen.

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