Two players for the Brooklyn Nets, Cam Johnson and Dariq Whitehead, will not play in Monday’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Brooklyn Nets have their first game of the 2023 preseason against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, but the Nets will not have the services of two players for the exhibition.
According to Evan Barnes of Newsday, Brooklyn head coach Jacque Vaughn said at Friday’s training camp practice that forward Cam Johnson and guard Dariq Whitehead will not play in Monday’s preseason game against the Lakers. Whitehead is still recovering from the foot surgery that he had this summer so it makes sense that he isn’t playing on Monday since Brooklyn does not want to rush him back.
Johnson sustained a mild strain of his left hamstring during an on-court workout last week, per the Nets’ “X” account on Monday. Brooklyn did include in the announcement that Johnson would miss the start of training camp and Johnson said during Media Day on Monday that he expects to play at some point in the preseason.
Jacque Vaughn: No Cam Johnson or Dariq Whitehead for the first preseason game in Vegas.
Not a surprise given both have been injured. All the other #Nets will be available vs the Lakers.
The incoming 2023 rookie class for the Brooklyn Nets used Media Day on Monday to share their thoughts of how their experience has been.
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.
With training camp just a few days away, here are three goals for Brooklyn Nets forward Dariq Whitehead to try to achieve.
Brooklyn Nets forward Dariq Whitehead comes into the NBA with a lot of promise as the 22nd overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. A player that some felt could have been a top-10 draft pick while he was in high school, Whitehead is recovering from foot surgery to address an issue that has been bothering him since his freshman season at Duke.
It seems that Whitehead’s rehab from his foot surgery is going well and he has been seen getting shots up at Brooklyn’s practice facility. The last time that Whitehead spoke about his recovery, he said that he didn’t have a timetable for when he would be able to fully participate.
Coming into this season, the Nets should be more than okay with giving Whitehead as much time as he needs to get his foot back to 100%. With that being said, here are three goals for Whitehead to strive for heading into training camp:
Whitehead underwent a second surgery on his right foot over the summer.
Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks said rookie Dariq Whitehead is expected to play this season after undergoing a second foot surgery over the summer.
Whitehead missed four games last season at Duke after undergoing surgery on the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot before the season. The bone did not heal properly, which prompted a “revision operation with bone grafting for a fifth metatarsal Jones fracture” in June.
The team knew when it drafted Whitehead with the 22nd pick in June there would be a chance he’d need additional time to rehab the injury. As a result, the franchise will not rush him back into action.
“(We) love the grit and determination that he has shown so far,” Marks said on Tuesday. “(His) rehab is going to plan and smooth. (I) wouldn’t put a timeline on when he’ll be back but the plan is that he’ll definitely be playing this year.”
The exact role Whitehead will fill is not known, though it is possible the 19-year-old will spend time in the G League once cleared to resume basketball activities. The organization wants to bring him along slowly since he has dealt with the injury for much of the past year.
Whitehead averaged 8.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and one assist on 42.9% shooting from 3-point range last season as a freshman. He finished second in the ACC in 3-point percentage with the fifth-highest mark of any freshman in program history.
The Nets open the preseason on Oct. 9 versus the Lakers in Las Vegas.
Brooklyn Nets wing Dariq Whitehead may not play much this season, but he arguably has the second-highest ceiling on the team.
The Brooklyn Nets will begin training camp in a little over one week from now and where the organization stands right now, there is a good mix of players who can produce and players who could produce down the line. Excluding guard Cam Thomas, who most people believe has the ceiling of all the young players on the roster, what player has the second-highest ceiling?
The answer to this question is arguably wing Dariq Whitehead. Whitehead, 19, came to the Nets as the 22nd overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft out of Duke, but the general consensus before Whitehead went to college was that he would be a top-10 pick.
What makes Whitehead’s ceiling high other than his prior history as one of the best high school players in his class is his overall profile. Standing at 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, Whitehead, native of Newark, New Jersey, has prototypical wing size for the league and has the requisite athleticism to hold his own.
However, Whitehead is currently recovering from a foot issue that has plagued him since his high school days and some are skeptical of whether he can regain the form that he had in high school when he was one of the most dominant offensive players in the nation. If Whitehead can recover from his foot injury enough to be the player who was just a couple of years ago, he could be an elite scorer in due time.
The official player ratings and other features for NBA 2K24 have been unveiled as the popular video game hit stores on Friday.
The official player ratings and other features for NBA 2K24 have been unveiled as the popular video game hit stores on Friday across all platforms around the world.
The latest installment of NBA 2K features three distinct editions, each honoring Kobe Bryant. The game, for the first time, also allows for crossplay, meaning users on different gaming consoles can still play with their friends online.
In addition to many of the new features and updates unveiled in the game, fans are equally as excited to see the initial player ratings. Of course, with a new group of players set to enter the league, many are curious to see how the rookie class would be graded.
The franchise, led by marketing director Ronnie 2K, previously revealed the ratings for several first-rounders this year. With the game officially available for purchase around the world, the grades for each rookie have been unveiled.
Here are the ratings for the first round of the 2023 NBA draft.
Brooklyn Nets guard Dariq Whitehead was recently pictured taking jumpshots in a show of how well his foot rehab has been going.
Brooklyn Nets guard Dariq Whitehead is one of the more interesting prospects taken in the 2023 NBA Draft due to the unknown of how his recent foot injuries will affect the rest of his career. For now, it looks like the recovery from his most recent foot surgery is going well.
In a post by NetsKingdom on X, formerly known as Twitter, Whitehead is pictured taking jumpshots at what appears to be the Nets practice facility. This implies that Whitehead’s rehab has not suffered any setbacks and that the possibility that he’s ready for training camp in October is only increasing.
Whitehead, 19, was selected by Brooklyn with the 22nd overall pick out of Duke, but needed foot surgery on Jun. 7 to further address his foot issue, hopefully once and for all. From everything that has been reported since Whitehead had his most recent surgery, it looks like the Nets should have him participating in training camp, even if it’s in a limited capacity.
Brooklyn Nets rookies Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead did not like their initial ratings for the NBA 2K24 video game.
The Brooklyn Nets have some time before training camp begins in a little over a month from now. With that being said, there was something interesting that happened recently in a crossover between real basketball and the popular 2K video game franchise.
Brooklyn recently posted on its social media account a video of rookies Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead, selected with the 21st and 22nd overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, respectively, reacting to their ratings in the upcoming 2K24 NBA video game. As with other sports video games such as Madden, the ratings are accepted as to be close to what a player is in real life.
As the video shows, posted below, the rookies were not exactly happy with their ratings. Both players were given a rating of 71, which gives them the lowest ratings on the team and are tied with guard Armoni Brooks, who was signed to a Two-Way contract this offseason.
2K Sports has been busy teasing many of the features in the game, which is scheduled to be released globally on Sept. 8. The franchise has revealed several forthcoming ratings; half of the rookie class is known at this time, including No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama.
Clowney and Whitehead were filmed at the Nets’ practice learning their ratings, which was 71 for both players. The initial mark was a little lower than their liking but they vowed to improve upon that number once the season begins.
Clowney debuted with the Nets in the NBA Summer League, averaging 4.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.4 blocks and one steal in five games. The 21st pick produced his best game on July 9 with eight points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
The exact roles for Clowney and Whitehead are a bit unclear entering the season. They could spend time in the G League with playing time at a premium on such a veteran-laden roster but they will have the opportunity to prove themselves in training camp in October.
Certainly, they will be looking to crack the rotation this season in an effort to contribute on the court. That, in turn, should enable them to improve their initial NBA 2K24 ratings.
Brooklyn Nets guard Dariq Whitehead, who the team selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, is currently recovering from foot surgery to address an issue that he was dealing with for the past year or so. While he isn’t ready to go just yet with training camp a little over a month away. he has important news for the Nets fanbase.
According to Brian Lewis of the New York Post, Whitehead would not give any specifics on his rehab or what the timetable is, but he did say that his rehab overall is going well. Whitehead recently made an appearance during Ticketmaster’s and the Nets’ Plaza Party Event at Barclays Center on Sunday and part of that appearance was him giving some information about his recovery.
Per Lewis, Whitehead did not walk with a limp or have a boot on at the event, which could be a visible sign of Whitehead’s improvement. If that wasn’t enough, Whitehead also had this to say as written by Lewis:
“Rehab is going great. Foot feeling good. Definitely not trying to give it a definite timetable right now, just trying to take it day by day. But everything’s feeling good, and just looking forward to approaching the season, getting back to 100 percent.”
