NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets are a different team this time around as this current era of Nets basketball is centered around development and potential while trying to win games at the same time. Brooklyn will be interesting to follow throughout the season from multiple angles, including the progression of their rookies.
“We’ve been taking it day by day,” Dariq Whitehead, Brooklyn’s 22nd overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, said during Monday’s Media Day in response to being asked where he is in his recovery from foot surgery. The last time that Whitehead spoke publicly in August, he said that he was feeling good and that his rehab is going great so it seems that there are no setbacks as of right now.
“I got to some working out on the court, doing some running on the court but, more so not playing fives or any contact,” Whitehead continued. It looks like Whitehead will be limited throughout training camp, but it’s also good news that Brooklyn is giving him all the time that he needs to come back from his foot issue.
While Whitehead’s rehab is coming along nicely, he and the other rookies each have their own goals for what they want to accomplish this season. “I think obviously we all had a goal that we want to play,” Noah Clowney, the Nets’ 21st overall pick, said for what he envisions for himself as this season progresses.
“But, I don’t really have major goals. I want to play, I want to win games, I want to contribute,” Clowney continued. All three rookies, including Jalen Wilson, the 51st overall pick in the draft, will most likely spend the majority of their time in the G League this season. The main reason for that is because of how deep the current rotation is right now.
“I would say just be able to contribute,” Wilson said, seemingly in agreement with Clowney and Whitehead with what he’s trying to get out of the 2023-24 season. Wilson played extremely well at the summer league in Las Vegas and made All-Summer League second team as a result. Now, he’s looking to build on that momentum.
“Help contribute to building a good culture. I feel like that’s most important when you know a team wants to go out and win games, you got to have a good culture,” Wilson explained.
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