The Brooklyn Nets and Long Island Nets both have three games this week and it looks like Dariq Whitehead will play them in Brooklyn.
Dariq Whitehead, who has been one of the Long Island Nets best players this season, has once again been recalled by the Brooklyn Nets.
Whitehead, who was playing a pivotal role for Long Island in its attempt to get into the G League playoffs, is heading back to the big club to hopefully play some more minutes up there. With this move, it seems like Brooklyn doesn’t see much chance of Long Island winning out to make the playoffs.
Long Island, which is currently 16-15 and a game and a half out of the sixth and final playoff spot, has three games left, Tuesday vs. the Raptors 905 in Toronto, then the final home games at Nassau Coliseum vs the Cleveland Charge. Both teams have losing records. Should they win their final three games, Long Island would finish the season at 19-15. Unfortunately for them, Long Island needs a lot of help to get in.
The Motor City Cruise, Wisconsin Herd, and College Park Skyhawks would have lose and fall back. So, it’s safe to say that Long Island would need a lot of help. So with evaluation its own top priority, Brooklyn figured it’s time to give Whitehead some legitimate minutes at the NBA level. Whitehead has had three foot and leg surgeries between August 2022 and January 2024 which have limited his NBA career to 12 games, 10 this season.
Whenever NetsDaily spoke to Whitehead earlier this year, he said that he didn’t care where he played, but he just wanted to “continue to stack days” and continue to get “healthy.” Indeed, this has been his first fully healthy season since high school.
Could the Brooklyn Nets consider sitting wings like Cam Johnson and Tyrese Martin and give some players like Dariq Whitehead and Maxwell Lewis some serious minutes? It’s very possible, and more importantly, it could help the tank.
While no team plays to lose, this could be the perfect time for Brooklyn to give players like Whitehead a legitimate look as noted by ND earlier today. He’s also likely to get more than the garbage time minutes he was given in previous recalls.