Nets Notes: Porter Jr., Whitehead, Demin, Sharpe, More

Michael Porter Jr., the Nets‘ biggest non-rookie offseason move, recently spoke about his struggles with injuries and how they impact his view of his career, saying, “Because of the injuries and stuff, I don’t know how much longer I really want to play,” and adding that his strategy is to take his career one year at a time.

Recently, he clarified those comments, reports Brian Lewis of the New York Post (via Twitter).

“I wanna play as long as I can; it’s just easier in my head to be like, man, give it my all, everything I have this year and when the year’s over see where I’m at mentally and reevaluate,” he said. “But… I wanna play as long as my body allows me to.”

While the early stages of Porter’s career were beset by back injuries, he’s been able to hold up relatively well in recent years, writes CJ Holmes of the New York Daily News.

Porter cites psychotherapist Nicole Sachs, who specializes in chronic pain and mind-body healing, for helping him get back on track physically.

“I didn’t realize how much of that actually stemmed from the mental side of things and the stress and all that,” Porter said. “So, once I kind of put all those pieces together, and I didn’t just pay attention to the physical side of things, I was able to have a very well-rounded approach to my rehab. And since then, I haven’t had any problems with my back.”

We have more from the Nets:

• Dariq Whitehead is entering a crucial season for his career, writes Lewis in an article for the New York Post. A high-level high school recruit who struggled in college largely due to injury, Whitehead is now also facing a roster that added five rookies, many of whom play on the perimeter like himself. The Nets have to make some hard decisions regarding players on their roster, which means this training camp is critical for Whitehead to make his case to stick around. Whitehead, for his part, said that having his first fully healthy NBA offseason could make a huge difference. “For me, I feel like this was honestly my most important summer,” he said. “Not being able to do what I had needed to do the past three summers, being able to work out, work on my body. Just the difference I felt from the last game of last season to now and just being able to trust my body — how comfortable I am with just handling things that I’d done before — is just night and day.“
• In further Nets injury news, coach Jordi Fernandez was noncommittal when it comes to lottery pick Egor Demin‘s status for the preseason, tweets Lewis, who writes that Fernandez simply said that Demin was “progressing well” from the plantar fascia tear that has kept him sidelined for much of the offseason. Lewis notes that fellow 2025 first-round pick Drake Powell will not play in the preseason opener Saturday as he looks to return from the knee injury that caused him to miss Summer League.
• Day’Ron Sharpe has visibly trimmed down his weight this offseason, Holmes writes in a separate piece for the New York Daily News, adding that Fernandez has emphasized conditioning across the roster. “I’m trying to be able to play more minutes and not be gassed out if I’ve got to play more minutes, for consecutive games or whatever,” Sharpe said. “So just trying to get in the best shape I could be.” However, it’s not just bulk that Sharpe focused on this summer. “It was flexibility, I tried to get my flexible stretch in, doing pilates, stuff like that,” the big man said. After signing a two-year deal with the Nets, Sharpe will now look to carve out a more consistent role on a team that also employs Nic Claxton, Noah Clowney, and newly-drafted 7’0″ big man Danny Wolf in the frontcourt.
• Tyrese Martin had his team option picked up this summer, but he’s not taking anything for granted, writes Lewis (via Twitter). “I’d never say that I’m actually on a solid footing,” the 26-year-old wing said. “Even when things are guaranteed, stuff’s still not guaranteed, especially in this business. So that’s just been my mindset all the way out and through.”