Dariq Whitehead Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Thunder Convert Youngblood To Two-Way, Waive Three Players

October 18th, 2025 at 12:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have announced a series of roster moves as they get their roster ready for the regular season. According to the team, guard Chris Youngblood has had his Exhibit 10 deal converted to a two-way contract, while forwards Zack Austin, Malevy Leons and Dariq Whitehead have been placed on waivers.

Youngblood went undrafted out of Alabama in June after previously playing for Kennesaw State and South Florida. As a super-senior in 2024/25, he averaged 10.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 25.3 minutes per game across 28 appearances for the Crimson Tide, posting a shooting line of .447/.388/.804.

Youngblood earned a promotion to a two-way contract with his play for the Thunder in the preseason. The 23-year-old averaged 11.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 19.3 minutes per game in three appearances, knocking down 44.4% of his three-point attempts.

Austin, Leons, and Whitehead were also on Exhibit 10 contracts, but that trio now seems likely to join the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate. They’ll earn bonuses worth $85,300 apiece if they spend at least 60 days with the Blue.

As for the Thunder, they now have 15 players on guaranteed standard contracts and three on two-way deals, so barring any last-minute sign-and-waive moves, their roster looks all set for opening night.

Thunder Sign Dariq Whitehead To Exhibit 10 Deal

October 17th, 2025 at 5:18pm CST by Luke Adams

5:18 pm: Whitehead did indeed sign an Exhibit 10 contract, confirms Keith Smith of Spotrac (via Twitter).

10:21 am: Four days after being waived by the Nets, former first-round pick Dariq Whitehead has signed with the Thunder, the team announced today.

A 6’7″ wing, Whitehead was a consensus five-star high school recruit who spent a single season at Duke in 2022/23. He was drafted 22nd overall by Brooklyn in 2023, but only played in 22 NBA games during his first two years in the league, averaging 5.3 points and 1.5 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per contest.

A series of injuries have derailed Whitehead’s NBA career so far. After undergoing a pair of surgeries on his right foot before being drafted, he had another procedure in January 2024 to address a stress reaction in his left shin, ending his rookie season early.

The Nets opted to waive Whitehead this fall even though his $3.26MM salary for the coming season was fully guaranteed. That money remained on Brooklyn’s cap after the 21-year-old cleared waivers earlier this week.

Whitehead’s new deal with the Thunder will likely be an Exhibit 10 contract, lining him up to receive a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he becomes an affiliate player for the Oklahoma City Blue and spends at least 60 days with OKC’s G League team.

The G League also figures to be the next stop for Cameron Brown, the forward who signed with the Thunder on Thursday. Brown was waived today in order to make room on the roster for Whitehead, per the club.

Nets Waive Dariq Whitehead, Drew Timme

October 13th, 2025 at 3:41pm CST by Rory Maher

The Nets have released Dariq Whitehead and Drew Timme, the team announced on Monday (Twitter link via Ian Begley of SNY.tv).

Whitehead being cut is significant because his $3,262,560 salary for 2025/26 is fully guaranteed, meaning the Nets will now carry a dead-money cap hit. Assuming he clears waivers, Whitehead’s $5,366,912 team option for 2026/27 will be declined as part of the transaction.

A 6’7″ wing, Whitehead was a highly touted high school recruit who has dealt with several injuries over the past few years. Brooklyn selected Whitehead 22nd overall in the 2023 draft after he spent one season at Duke, but the 21-year-old has only played in 22 NBA games over the past two seasons, averaging 5.3 points and 1.5 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per contest.

Timme, who had a decorated college career at Gonzaga, went undrafted in 2023 and spent most of the past two seasons in the G League. He was promoted to a two-year standard contract in late March after a strong ’24/25 regular season with the Nets’ affiliate team in Long Island.

The Nets picked up their $1,955,377 option on Timme in late June, but his salary was fully non-guaranteed, so they won’t incur a cap hit by waiving him. The 25-year-old forward/center averaged 12.1 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 2.2 APG in nine games (28.2 MPG) with Brooklyn down the stretch last season. His shooting line was .441/.257/.625.

Since he only has one year of NBA experience, Timme could theoretically return to the Nets on a two-way deal if he goes unclaimed, notes Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter links). However, the team has yet to determine if Timme will get that final two-way spot, Lewis reports.

Waiving Whitehead and Timme likely means the Nets are deciding between Jalen Wilson and Tyrese Martin for their 15th standard roster spot. Wilson has a $88K partial guarantee which will increase to about $382K if he makes the regular season roster, while Martin’s contract is fully non-guaranteed.

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

October 3rd, 2025 at 6:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

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.

He clarified those comments this week, per 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 credits 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 top high school recruit who struggled in college largely due to injury, Whitehead is now on a roster that added five rookies, many of whom play on the perimeter like himself. The Nets will have to make some difficult roster decisions in the near future, which means this training camp is critical for Whitehead to make his case to stick around. For his part, the former first-round pick 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.“
Head coach Jordi Fernandez was noncommittal when discussing lottery pick Egor Demin‘s status for the preseason, according to Lewis, who tweets that Fernandez simply said that Demin is “progressing well” from the plantar fascia tear that he sustained during 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, given that his salary for 2025/26 remains non-guaranteed, per 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.”

Nets Notes: Demin, Mann, Whitehead, Summer League

July 11th, 2025 at 6:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Nets‘ selection of Egor Demin with the No. 8 pick in the 2025 draft was met with surprise by many, but according to Lucas Kaplan of Nets Daily, there’s plenty of reason for optimism about the selection.

The clearest reason for this, according to Kaplan, is that the combination of size, passing, and shooting has never been more valuable than it is in today’s NBA, and Demin comes into the league clearly possessing at least two of those three attributes. The swing skill is, of course, the outside shot, which has troubled Demin throughout his career as a prospect, but has had moments of positive projection.

“I saw him up close and personal in his individual workouts, and other workouts that we had here with the group, and was able to compare what we saw during the season to what we saw now, and the uptick and the improvement that we saw was pretty outstanding,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said of the rookie.

Despite his skills as a passer, Demin will likely be reliant on having a high-quality screen-setter to help him shake defenders at the NBA level, according to Kaplan, who adds that playing off a natural scorer like Cam Thomas should help him get some easy looks as a catch-and-shoot option.

We have more from the Nets:

The Nets received 28-year-old wing Terance Mann in the trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis from the Celtics to the Hawks. On a young team full of unproven players, Mann will have a chance to serve as a leader either as a starter or off the bench, writes Nets Income of Nets Daily, who adds that Mann’s defensive intensity should fit well in the culture that head coach Jordi Fernandez is trying to establish. Mann averaged 9.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 30 games for the Hawks last season after being traded from the Clippers.
Dariq Whitehead‘s lack of participation in the Nets’ Summer League squad was met with some surprise, but the decision was made with an eye towards getting him as healthy as possible coming into the 2025 season, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Lewis says the decision was made in conjunction with Marks and Whitehead’s agents at Excel Sports. “With the way I finished last season, it was just something that I guess my agent talked to Sean about and they were [thinking] more so get my body ready and prepare for training camp and next season,” Whitehead said.
Much was made of the Nets’ decision to use all five of their first-round picks in the 2025 draft. On Thursday, four of those five players made their Summer League debuts, but Lewis calls it more of a tease than anything revealing. Demin and Danny Wolf both shook off slow starts to ultimately have some interesting moments in the loss to the Thunder. Nolan Traore ended with 13 points, three rebounds, and three assists, despite twisting his ankle in the first quarter, and Lewis called Traore’s speed with the ball one of the standout attributes in the game. Drake Powell missed the game with a knee injury, while Ben Saraf came off the bench.

Atlantic Notes: Lillard, Yabusele, Whitehead, Hetzel

July 6th, 2025 at 8:05pm CST by Eli Cohen

Damian Lillard has a big decision ahead of him after unexpectedly finding himself on the free agent market while recovering from a ruptured Achilles. One of the teams that the soon-to-be 35-year-old is reportedly considering is the Celtics, who, like Lillard, find themselves in a surprisingly uncertain position for next season.

According to Ashish Mathur of Dallas Hoops Journal, Lillard’s time with Team USA could prove an important piece of his search for a new squad. Lillard and Celtics’ star Jayson Tatum, who is also recovering from a torn Achilles, grew close when they played together for the 2020 Olympic team.

Signing with the Celtics would give Tatum a companion in his rehabilitation process, while setting the team up for a deep 2026/27 playoff run once its star wing recovers. Given the team’s efforts to shed salary this summer, Lillard could represent a lower-cost acquisition with major playoff upside, depending on how he recovers from the injury.

We have more notes from around the Atlantic division:

The Sixers let reserve Guerschon Yabusele go to the Knicks this summer, reportedly declining to offer a competitive contract to the French forward who played a key bench role last season. According to Keith Pompey of The Inquirer, this isn’t the first time the Sixers have declined to retain players considered to be important bench pieces. He points to Philadelphia allowing Jalen McDaniels and Georges Niang to walk in the summer of 2023, which was viewed as a mistake by fans at the time, but ultimately proved to be the correct move. President Daryl Morey is not known as overly sentimental when it comes to role players, but Pompey questions whether that approach might prove to be a mistake this time, especially with the uncertain health of Joel Embiid.
Dariq Whitehead is not suiting up for the Nets at Summer League this year. Brian Lewis of the New York Post expressed surprise (via Twitter) about that decision, considering the difficulty Whitehead has had trying to bounce back from the injuries that have impeded his development over the last few years. Whitehead has only played 22 games with the Nets in his first two seasons, averaging 5.7 points and 1.5 rebounds while shooting 44.6% from three last season.
The Nets‘ Summer League team will be coached by assistant coach Steve Hetzel, Lewis reports (via Twitter). This will be Hetzel’s second season as an assistant with the Nets, following a three-year stint as an assistant coach with Portland.

Atlantic Notes: Whitehead, Brown, Boucher, Knicks

April 10th, 2025 at 5:41pm CST by Earnest Marshall

As the Nets near the end of the season, their priority in the last three games will be evaluating which players might be a part of their future. As Bridget Reilly of the New York Post writes, 2023 first-round forward Dariq Whitehead is hoping to prove he should stick around with the franchise for the long run.

Still just 20 years old, Whitehead has been limited to just 19 NBA games in his first two seasons after dealing with several injuries, including a stress reaction on his leg that ended his rookie year. The Duke product said he feels he’s almost back to 100% health.

“I feel it coming,” Whitehead said. “I will say it’s night and day from just trusting my body and stuff. Doing things I haven’t done in two years, which is amazing for me and I’m sure it’s amazing for the coaches and staff to see.”

In 17 games this year, Whitehead is averaging 6.2 points while shooting 44.8% on 3.9 three-point attempts per game. Over 75% of his shots have come from beyond the arc.

“This is going to be an important summer for me,” Whitehead said. “Since I’ve been hurt, I haven’t been able to just work on those things, which is getting my athleticism back and just doing certain movements. Just me attacking this summer is going to be really important for me.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Celtics star Jaylen Brown is out for the team’s Friday game against the Hornets, according to The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn (Twitter link). As Washburn notes, that means Brown won’t reach the 65-game threshold necessary to be eligible for postseason awards.
Chris Boucher has been a long-term fixture of the Raptors, making the team out of training camp in 2018/19 and becoming part of that season’s championship roster. As Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca writes, there is mutual interest in another contract between Boucher and the Raptors as he hits unrestricted free agency this summer. The big man has had a strong season, averaging 10.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per game, though his role has fluctuated. “Obviously it’s not ideal, but it’s the business. I know how things go by now,” Boucher said of his minutes. “I’m trying to stay positive with how my life is and see the positive stuff, and I think I had a great year, too. I think that helps, knowing that I’m growing and being the player and the person that I want to be, so I take those wins. The season went by pretty quick, so I’ll enjoy the last few games and see what happens.”
The Knicks are showing a willingness to rest players in the last part of the season, Howie Kussoy of the New York Post writes. If New York wins on Thursday or Indiana loses, the Knicks will clinch the third seed. OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson will sit out of Thursday’s contest. New York’s playoff roster last season was depleted by injuries, so the team appears to be doing what it can do avoid history repeating itself.

New York Notes: Simmons, Whitehead, Knicks

March 28th, 2025 at 7:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Speaking to Jared Schwartz of The New York Post (subscriber link), former Nets guard Ben Simmons reflected on his unhappy tenure in Brooklyn, discussing the differences between his Brooklyn and L.A. stints and explaining why he feels more comfortable with his new team, the Clippers, than he ever did during his injury-plagued years with the Nets.

“(Los Angeles) feels like home, honestly,” Simmons told Schwartz. “I never really felt like New York was home for me. Being in L.A., I feel like me as a person, it’s my kind of scenery or environment to be in. I think I thrive in situations like that. It was a blessing and a great experience to be in New York and experience being in New York City, there’s no city in the world like it. But I’m happy where I’m at, I love being in L.A.”

In his 11 games with L.A., Simmons is averaging 4.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.5 APG, 0.9 SPG and 0.5 BPG. It’s a far cry from his All-Star peak, but the 28-year-old remains a solid, versatile defender who can pull down a rebound at will.

There’s more out of New York:

Second-year Nets wing Dariq Whitehead‘s call-up to Brooklyn represents just the latest step in his comeback from three recent leg surgeries. Head coach Jordi Fernandez weighed in on Whitehead’s progress this season, per Erik Slater of ClutchPoints (Twitter link). “It’s a process for him,” Fernandez said. “He’s gotta buy into all these things. He shows up and works. And now, when he has these minutes, he has to take advantage of them. So learning all that is extremely important.”
The 45-27 Knicks, currently the third seed in the Eastern Conference, have 10 games on their slate before this year’s playoffs. Stefan Bondy of The New York Post unpacks the seven most important questions that face the team down the stretch of the 2024/25 season.
In a reader mailbag, Ian Begley of SNY.tv fields questions about Knicks All-Star guard Jalen Brunson‘s ankle health, how rookie guard Tyler Kolek can carve out a rotational role, reserve center Mitchell Robinson‘s minutes restriction, and more.

Atlantic Notes: Drummond, Embiid, Whitehead, Quickley

December 22nd, 2024 at 8:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With Joel Embiid missing a majority of the Sixers’ games so far, Andre Drummond has played an unheralded role in Philadelphia, not just on the court but also as a respected locker room voice, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey.

Drummond, who signed a two-year, $10MM with the Sixers during the summer, is averaging 7.1 points and 8.3 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per game across 23 outings (14 starts). That’s his highest MPG average and the most starts he has made since the 2021/22 season.

“I’m at a point now where I’ve done everything individually, accolade-wise,” Drummond said. “A lot of things that guys in this league haven’t done, I’ve done it already, individually. My goal now is to win. And whatever capacity that comes in, you know, I’m down to do for the team. Do I want to play more? Of course, who doesn’t want to play more? But that’s not best for the team right now.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Embiid’s latest injury was a right sinus fracture but he was able to rack up 34 points against Charlotte this week. The Sixers star said he’s stopping feeling sorry for himself when he gets injured, Pompey writes. “A lesson that I learned is stop feeling bad about myself, live day by day, enjoy the good people around, the positive and not focus on the negative,” he said.
Dariq Whitehead has only appeared in three games with the Nets this season but the 2023 first-rounder isn’t upset. He’s actually glad to be spending time with the Long Island Nets, since being in the G League gives the forward an opportunity to play regular minutes. “I was very clear with my agent that I needed to continue to play,” he told Eric Slater of Clutch Points (hat tip to NetsDaily.com). “I knew we had some guys that were injured, some older guys, and I knew they were gonna come back and get back in the rotation. So I was very adamant with my agent that I needed to go back down to the G League and play. That was a big boost for me.”
Immanuel Quickley is inching closer to a return after missing 17 games due to a left elbow injury. The Raptors guard, who also had an eight-game absence early in the season due to a pelvic injury, went through a light practice Saturday and was a full participant in all non-contact elements, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet. He’ll know he’s ready to suit up again when he can throw all the one-handed passes a point guard needs with his left hand, Grange adds.

Nets Notes: Monday Loss, Sharpe, Williams, Whitehead

December 3rd, 2024 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Since winning three road games in four days last week in Sacramento, Golden State, and Phoenix, the Nets have struggled. They lost their third contest in a row on Monday, falling by a score of 128-102 to the Bulls. It was a six-point game at the half before Chicago began to pull away in the third quarter, leaving head coach Jordi Fernandez upset about his team’s second-half performance, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

“Losing a second half by 20, it’s not good enough. We have higher standards, the way we work, the way we play, the way we compete. And this was not good,” Fernandez said. “They scored 56 in the first half, and they scored 72 in the second half. So our defense was extremely bad. And our players know that our ball pressure has to be better, our competitiveness, our communication.

“In that second Orlando game (a 100-92 loss on Sunday), the first half of this game, I give the guys credit. You can lose, but that’s how you lose, and I was proud of them. This second half, this is not who we want to be. This is not our identity. It was pretty poor.”

As Lewis points out, it’s hard to blame the Nets too much for their underwhelming performance, given how banged up the team is. Starters Cam Thomas, Dorian Finney-Smith, Ben Simmons, and Cameron Johnson (who was a late scratch due to a left ankle sprain) were among eight Brooklyn players unavailable in Chicago. Still, Fernandez doesn’t view the club’s injury woes as an excuse for a disappointing effort.

“I’m going to go into every game believing that we have a chance to win,” Fernandez said. “I don’t care who’s playing. If they wear a Nets uniform, I’m going to go out there and believe that we’re going to fight, compete and we’re going to have a chance.”

Here’s more on the Nets:

One player who wasn’t on Monday’s injury report was center Day’Ron Sharpe, who was making his season debut after missing the Nets’ first 21 games due to a hamstring injury. After recording just four points and two rebounds in 16 minutes of action, Sharpe said it “felt good to be back on the court,” but indicated he wasn’t happy with his performance, according to Lewis. “My second stint, I was tired, I’m not going to lie. But I’m getting my wind back. After that I thought I was good,” Sharpe said. “But me personally, I feel like I played (terribly). But that’s the first game, so just keep building from here.”
Ziaire Williams missed his first game this season in Chicago due to what the team referred to as a left knee sprain. As Lewis relays, Fernandez’s comments on Monday suggested that Williams’ absence will likely extend beyond that. “Right now, we will have a better feel on how (Williams) reacts in the next few days to know exactly what that time frame is,” the Nets’ coach said.
Given the opportunity to play a rotation role with so many players sidelined, Dariq Whitehead had the best game of his NBA career on Monday, knocking down six three-pointers and scoring 18 points. He’d scored three total points in his previous four NBA outings. Scott Mitchell of NetsDaily takes a look at Whitehead’s breakout game and explores how the guard’s time with the Long Island Nets helped build his confidence. “If I’m being completely honest, last year I just got drafted and was in the wrong mindset. I didn’t take playing in the G League the right way like I should have,” Whitehead said. “This year, I came into it with a clearer mind and want to be (in Long Island) and develop that leadership role.”