NC State NBA Update

NBA Training Camp begins at the end of the month, so it’s about time for us to give you an update the former Wolfpack players currently in the league.

TJ Warren had surgery on his broken foot back in February and missed the remainder of the season, and will soon be back running full speed with the rest of the Phoenix Suns. Before his second season was abruptly ended by injury, Warren was averaging 11 points per game in 22.8 minutes. He shot 50.1% from the field and 40% from three-point land. Warren is set to make $2.2 million in his third year, and projects to come off the bench behind P.J. Tucker.

Anthony “Cat” Barber went undrafted this Summer after forgoing his Senior season, but officially signed his contract with the 76ers on August 31st, but his spot on the final 15 man roster isn’t guaranteed. Barber averaged 6.2 points per game (41.7 FG%)for the Pelicans in the Summer League.

J.J. Hickson’s career in the NBA might officially be over. The Denver Nuggets waived Hickson back in February, and was picked up by the Wizards roughly a week later. While on the Wizards, Hickson only played in 15 games, and averaged a meager 8.7 minutes per game, which was a career low. According to RotoWorld, Hickson is finalizing a deal with Fujian in China. In his 8 year NBA career, Hickson averaged 10 points and 7 rebounds.

As of now it looks like Lorenzo Brown will be the Detroit Pistons third point guard. Brown’s competition is Ray MacCallum. At this point it looks like Brown might have the edge, but the two will have to duke it out in camp. Brown has the edge for a couple of reasons. First, he has the advantage with familiarity. He served two 10-day contract stints with the Pistons at the end of last season, and then played with them in the playoffs. He has spent a lot of time with the Pistons D-League team in the past as well. Second, Brown was a standout in the summer league. Third, Brown has the height advantage over MacCallum. After drafting point guard Ish Smith (6’0″), Brown’s size (6’5″) off of the bench could be beneficial.