What Is the Brooklyn Nets’ Plan for Developing Dariq Whitehead?

The Brooklyn Nets made three selections in the 2023 NBA Draft. Two of their choices—Noah Clowney and Jalen Wilson—have become staples in head coach Jordi Fernandez's rotation. The odd man out is Dariq Whitehead, the Duke product Brooklyn drafted 22nd overall.

Whitehead missed essentially all of his rookie campaign and has struggled to gain consistent minutes in a crowded Nets backcourt. Now, with the franchise adding four more guards in this summer's draft, Whitehead's future is now murkier than ever.

What is the Nets' plan for Whitehead?

If it so chooses, Brooklyn has three more years of team control over Whitehead. He's under contract for the 2025-26 season with a club option the following year. If the Nets pick up said option, he'll be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2028.

But the issue is: Whitehead is somewhat at a crossroads with Brooklyn. Now is the time he needs real-time experience to develop the skills that made him the McDonald's All-American Game MVP back in 2022, but doing so could come with a trade off. By giving Whitehead opportunities, the Nets risk stunting the development of their other young guards.

This poses a major question to Brooklyn's staff and management: is it worth seeing if Whitehead can become a consistent rotational player at the expense of one of the incoming rookies? Whitehead, Egor Demin, Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf likely won't all play on the same night—barring injuries.

Thus, tough decisions may eventually have to be made. Tough decisions like:

Why trading Whitehead could be the solution

As it's presently constructed, the Nets' roster is heavily bloated. They currently have 19 players rostered—20 if and when Cam Thomas' contract drama is situated—and can only carry 21 into training camp.

Come opening day, Brooklyn can only have 15 active players, with an additional three on two-way contracts. Since Whitehead is a former first-rounder, it's hard to imagine him getting demoted to a two-way deal. That won't happen. But it's also hard to envision him ending up as one of the final 15 players standing.

There's likely a team somewhere in the NBA who's still intrigued enough with Whitehead's game to send the Nets some sort of offer—even if it's as little as a second-rounder. At this point, that may be the best move for both sides. Brooklyn gains more roster flexibility, while Whitehead moves on to a place where he'll receive some genuine opportunities.