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The Brooklyn Nets had a solid 2023 NBA Draft class as they had two first-round picks with plenty of potential along with second-round pick Jalen Wilson who showed out in the NBA 2K24 Summer League. However, there are some who believe that one of the first-round picks will be spending the majority of the 2023-24 season in the G League.
According to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, he expects Dariq Whitehead, Brooklyn selected him with their 22nd overall pick, to spend the majority of next season in the G League. For context, Wasserman had three choices for his prediction of what role each 2023 first-round pick will have next season: starter, bench, or G League.
With regard to Whitehead, he is coming off a second surgery on his foot that has bothered him for the past year or so. Not only that, but Brooklyn’s starting five is already set, unless a trade happens between now and the start of the season, along with some of the bench being decided such as Royce O’Neale and Cam Thomas.
However, it’s possible that Whitehead could see some playing time towards the end of the season if he recovers from his foot surgery fast enough to get back to how he normally plays. Here’s what Wasserman had to say about his prediction of Whitehead’s role for next season:
“A second foot surgery forced Dariq Whitehead to miss draft workouts and summer league. And with the Brooklyn Nets bringing back Royce O’Neale and signing Lonnie Walker IV, they’ll likely prefer sending Whitehead to the G League rather than the end of their bench.
He should still eventually get a call-up and some NBA minutes thanks to a three-point stroke that’s gotten better each of the last few years. The short-term outlook pictures a spot-up shooter who’s still capable of creating his own jump shot with pull-ups and step-backs.
The hope long term is that he regains his explosiveness and improves his ability to apply rim pressure and score off the dribble.”
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