PJ Tucker‘s second 10-day contract with the New York Knicks has run out, meaning that they would have to sign him through at least the end of the 2024-25 season to bring him back. At this point in time, there doesn’t appear to be any rush to do so. After all, he’s only played one minute and 47 seconds since signing his first 10-day contract with the Knicks.
Nevertheless, Tucker is “a strong candidate to re-sign at a later date,” per New York Post reporter Stefan Bondy. With that in mind, the 39-year-old could be invaluable during the 2025 NBA Playoffs due to his locker room leadership, 3-and-D prowess, and playoff experience. To the latter point, Tucker has played 104 postseason games and won a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021. Knicks swingman OG Anunoby is the only other player on the roster that has won an NBA championship, which he accomplished with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
TJ Warren Leaves Knicks, PJ Tucker May Return
The Knicks have had some slippage at the offensive end as of late. In fact, they went from scoring 118.4 points per game prior to the All-Star Break to 110.9 points per game after it. As a result, there was an expectation for them to sign a more offensively-inclined player than Tucker. Among the players that were reportedly shortlisted was forward TJ Warren.
A nine-year NBA veteran, Warren has averaged 14.3 points per game in his career. From 2017-18 to 2019-20, he averaged 19.3 points per game in what was the best stretch of his career. As it often happens, an injury then stopped his momentum. Since then, he’s been looking for a way to get back in the NBA and stick. Suffice it to say, it’s taken longer than expected.
Warren’s frustrations recently reached a boiling point. Per Bondy, he left the Knicks’ G League affiliate “not long after” they signed Tucker.
TJ Warren left the Westchester Knicks not long after the Knicks signed PJ Tucker, league sources told The Post.
Warren averaged nearly 23 points for Westchester and was hoping for a call-up to the senior club.
— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) March 30, 2025
In 21 games with Westchester, the 31-year-old averaged 22.8 points, 4.2 assists, and 1.7 steals per contest. He also knocked down 36.8 percent of his 3-point attempts, which may be just as important.
No Guarantees
There may not be any, if many, guarantees in the NBA. That’s fitting for an ultra-exclusive league where less than one percent of all high school players end up making the final cut. Nonetheless, it has to be an incredibly frustrating experience. Not only for those who are at what they hope to be the beginning of the basketball journey but for players such as Warren too.
Ever since his foot fracture, Warren’s been trying valiantly to get both feet back in the door. Given that a championship-contender such as the Knicks gave serious consideration to signing him, he actually may be closer to accomplishing that than he believes. With that being said, it might be hard for him to see the light at the end of the tunnel right now.
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