76ers Rival Brooklyn Nets Will Get Key Acquisition Back Next Week

After an underwhelming start to the 2022-2023 season, the Philadelphia 76ers' rival Brooklyn Nets could certainly use all the help they can get to receive a boost as the season progresses.

Soon enough, the Nets will get one of their most recent key acquisitions in the mix as TJ Warren is expected to return to the court after a long hiatus due to injury.

On Sunday morning, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that former Indiana Pacers forward TJ Warren is set to take the court soon after not appearing on the court since the 2020-2021 NBA season. Warren, who appeared in four matchups two years ago, needed multiple surgeries on his foot after dealing with two significant setbacks over the course of two seasons.

Warren’s injury concerns started in the bubble during the 2019-2020 season. After appearing in six seeding games, Warren missed Indiana’s final two matchups due to an injury. Although he returned the following year, Warren’s return to the court lasted just four games.

It’s been a while since he’s played in a game, but Warren is expected to make his season debut on Friday against the Toronto Raptors, per Charania.

“Nets forward TJ Warren is targeting a season debut of December 2 against the Toronto Raptors at home, according to sources. … Warren’s been gradually progressing in rehab from on-court work to steady 5-on-5 play recently. His return should bring a strong offensive boost to Brooklyn as Warren was one of the top NBA players in the bubble in 2020.”

If all goes well for Warren, he’ll be on the court to face the 76ers when Brooklyn and Philadelphia battle it out once again in January.

When the two teams met earlier this week, the shorthanded Sixers upset the Nets, who had their core guys on the floor.

It’s unclear how quickly Warren will get acclimated with Brooklyn, but most Sixers fans certainly remember how well he played against Philadelphia during the bubble stretch when Warren played for the Pacers.

In 40 minutes of action, Warren drained nearly 70 percent of his shots for 53 points against the Sixers in August of 2020. In his three other matchups against the Sixers as a member of Indiana, Warren scored at least 20 points in over 30 minutes of action.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.