For Newark native Dariq Whitehead, patience is the name of the game.
Whitehead had to be patient during Thursday night’s NBA Draft, when commissioner Adam Silver called 21 names before the Nets selected the three-and-D wing out of Duke with the No. 22 overall pick.
He was not invited to The Green Room — where the top draft prospects gather to await their big moment on draft night.
“I’m a big believer in things happen for a reason, and God has everything set in the right path, so it’s definitely gonna fuel the extra motivation, but I’m just here to think about what’s here now,” he said. “I’m here to focus on the future, so I’ve gotta put that behind me and help try to contribute to this team and winning basketball as much as possible. So I’ve pretty much gotta put that behind me.”
Even more patience will be required — both from Whitehead and the Nets — as he navigates a right foot injury that has required two surgeries in the past year.
Whitehead addressed the media Friday afternoon, 12 hours after his name was called, wearing a walking boot on his right leg. He underwent a procedure on the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot in August, but after meeting with several foot specialists and discovering his foot did not heal properly following the first surgery, he opted for a second.
Whitehead will not participate in Summer League but is expected to be in action for the start of training camp. The Nets do not plan to rush Whitehead onto the court.
“I think we’ll take it slow, and be very systematic with how we bring him back,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said on Friday. “He’s 19, so let’s be very measured in the process. I have the utmost faith in our doctors. … There’s absolutely no rush to do this. We’ll work hand in hand with Dariq. He’ll be the one guiding us as well.”
Whitehead, however, is eager to make his mark, eager to prove wrong the teams who overlooked him before the Nets scooped him up outside of the draft lottery. He averaged eight points per game at Duke in his lone freshman season but shot an impressive 43% clip from downtown on an average of 3.5 three-point attempts per game. Sweetening the pot is Whitehead’s defensive potential at 6-7, 220 pounds. He also possesses the ability to create his own shot off the bounce, often displaying a step-back three through his 28 games at Duke.
“It doesn’t matter where you get picked. It’s what you do now. I can only imagine had he been at strength, he would’ve gone a lot higher,” Marks said of Whitehead. “But it gives us the conviction when we’re drafting a guy like that to know, hey, we had a young man come through here, Caris LeVert, who had been through similar injuries. We’re very comfortable with one, the person, the chip on his shoulder, and the performance team and coaching staff here, will get him back to where he needs to be. No doubt about that.”
Whitehead sought advice from Boston Celtics MVP candidate Jayson Tatum, a former Blue Devil who suffered an injury to the fourth metatarsal as a freshman on a Duke pro day in front of 50 NBA scouts.
“His main thing was just being patient,” Whitehead recalled. “You know when the right time is to come back, you know your body; that was his main message. And that’s kind of what I tried to apply, you know, just making sure I know my body and doing it right because it’s the second time.”
The Nets’ rookie is excited to attack his rehab process.
“I think I can definitely get back to that guy who I was,” he said. “I feel like people definitely tend to think that I’m not athletic, and that was due to me pretty much playing on one leg. But I feel like I can definitely show the athletic part, and then really my playmaking. I feel like once I get 100% I can go back to showing how well I can really be a great on-ball playmaker.”
He’s also excited to be back home. Well, close to home.
Whitehead remembers the Nets when they were in New Jersey, not Brooklyn, and when they played at the Prudential Center — not his new home at Barclays. He has several family members who still live in the area and expects even more support from his friends when he finally suits up in a Nets jersey.
“The Nets being here, it’s still pretty much home — it’s just a 20-minute, 30-minute drive over the bridge,” he said. “I’m just excited for my family to be able to attend a lot of games and have that support I had going in before high school.”
There is no firm target date, however, for Whitehead to finally put on the No. 7 in black and gray and play real minutes for the Nets. Year one for the Nets’ rookie will be defined by his patience with the process.
“It’s very difficult. You know, you get drafted, you want to get out there with new teammates, you wanna show what you can do, you know, create that bond,” he said. “But, like I said, injuries happen. And sometimes, it’s something I gotta take my time on and make sure I get it to 100%.”
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