T.J. Warren, the 14th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, learned late Wednesday that he will be out indefinitely with a thumb fracture in his left hand. Warren suffered the injury in Tuesday night's win against the Los Angeles Lakers. He initially thought his finger got caught in an opponent's jersey, but it turns out he jammed it into a Lakers player.
In five preseason games, the volume scorer out of N.C. State was averaging 4.4 points and 2.4 rebounds on 50 percent shooting in limited minutes. Warren shined in the Vegas Summer League a couple of months ago though, averaging 18 points per game and 5 rebounds on 54 percent shooting in only 25 minutes per game.
The Phoenix Suns will now need to experiment with their roster as forward PJ Tucker is already out the first three games of the year due to a league suspension for a DUI. T.J. Warren was expected to see some minutes off the bench in Tucker's absence. Luckily, the Suns are flooded with depth this season, and those minutes could easily be given to uber-athletic guard/forward Gerald Green.
This is the third player the Suns have lost to a hand injury this summer alone. Alex Len sprained his pinky in the NBA Summer League a couple of months back, and he sprained that same finger again just weeks after returning from injury. Newcomer Anthony Tolliver had to get some stitches in his left hand which cost him some preseason games. Both players are back healthy now, so let us hope this is not becoming a trend for the Phoenix Suns.