Where Are They Now: Willie Warren

Willie Warren was the 54^th pick in the 2010 draft, back in the days when the Clippers were an up-and-coming young squad instead of a veteran contender. A tall and athletic point guard, Warren was considered somewhat of a steal that late in the draft, but never really got much of a chance with the Clippers. The Clips had veteran starters in Baron Davis and then Mo Williams who soaked up most of the minutes at point guard, and fellow class of 2010 draftee Eric Bledsoe got the rest. Warren ended up playing in 19 games, almost entirely in garbage time, and sat on the bench for the bulk of the season.

Just a few days after the Chris Paul trade in December of 2011, Warren was waived, and has never played in the NBA again. Here is a look at where his basketball career has taken him since.

2012: Warren spent the 2012 season with the Rio Valley Vipers in the NBA Development League, but only played in 11 games. When he did play, he was a solid reserve guard, scoring 13.9 points per game and dishing out 3.2 assists in 21.8 minutes per game.

2013: Warren played (and started for) Maccabi Rishon LeZion, appearing in 23 games and leading the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game. He also shot the ball well, and was overall an effective point guard. He also did this:

2014: Warren started out the season playing for Szolnoki Olaj in the Hungarian KK league, but was waived in February and joined Virtus Bologna in the Italian Serie A league, for whom he finished the year. I'm sure the Hungarian League is fine for what it is, but getting waived from a 2nd (possibly even 3rd) tier European league had to have been tough for Willie. This would seem to be the nadir of his career.

2015: Willie made the seemingly inevitable move to China, joining the CBA expansion team Beijing BG Flying Dragons for their inaugural season. Sadly, they had the dubious distinction of being the worst team in the league, finishing with an incredible 4-34 record. Willie, however, had himself a season, scoring a ridiculous 38.9 points per game and shooting 60.6% from the field! China truly appears to be a magical place for former NBA players to revive their careers, and Willie is no exception.

2016-present: For the first time since 2012, Willie played basketball in the same country for consecutive years, which must have been quite a relief. He did switch teams, joining the Zhejiang Golden Bulls, and was almost as productive for them as he had been for Beijing the year before, putting up 33.1 points per game as their only American player. He will return for them this year, and it's possible that Willie has found a home at last.

Willie Warren has had a much more typical professional basketball career than those NBA fans are most accustomed too. Not many players stick on one team for more than a handful of years outside of the NBA, and a lot of them have similar experiences to Willie, going from team to team until they find a home. Willie is certainly talented, and if he keeps producing at the level he has been in China, he could maybe even find his way back to the NBA someday.