The Grizzlies intend to sign former first-round pick Dariq Whitehead to a 10-day contract, agent James Dunleavy tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Memphis also plans to sign free agent forward Toby Okani, agents BJ Bass and Cam Brennick tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Whitehead and Okani are almost certainly signing hardship contracts for the injury-ravaged Grizzlies. They’ll essentially be replacing DeJon Jarreau, Tyler Burton, whose second 10-day deals with Memphis expired on Wednesday night. Players can only sign two 10-day pacts with the same team in a given season, which is why Jarreau and Burton weren’t brought back a third time.
A top high school recruit who played one year of college basketball at Duke, Whitehead’s career has been derailed by a series of injuries. He only played 22 for the Nets over his first two NBA seasons, and he was waived by Brooklyn in October despite having a guaranteed contract in 2025/26.
Still just 21 years old, Whitehead has spent the 2025/26 campaign in the G League after signing an Exhibit 10 deal with the Thunder a few days after he was cut by the Nets. In 28 combined appearances (23.6 minutes per contest) for the Oklahoma City Blue this season, Whitehead has averaged 11.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists, with a subpar shooting line of .368/.298/.690.
As for Okani, the 6’8″ forward went undrafted in 2025 following five college seasons, the last of which was spent with West Virginia. The 24-year-old has put up modest stats for the Westchester Knicks this season, averaging 6.4 PPG and 3.1 RPG on .399/.292/.533 shooting in 47 total games (21.4 MPG). Okani is viewed as a versatile defender, according to Scotto.
Whitehead will earn $131,970 over his 10 days with Memphis, while Okani will make $73,153. If the agreements are finalized on Friday, both players will technically sign rest-of-season deals and will be free agents at 12:00 am ET on April 13.