Nets select Dariq Whitehead, 6’7” Duke wing, at No. 22

Dariq Whitehead, the 6’7” Duke wing who was slowed by a foot issue his freshman year, was selected by the Nets with the 22nd pick, their second pick in the first round. Whitehead, who turns 19 on August 1, is the youngest Nets draft pick ever.

Whitehead was taken with the Nets own first round pick.

Whitehead, a native of Newark, was Mr. Basketball USA and Naismith Prep Player of the Year in 2022 while taking home MVP honors at the McDonald’s All-American Game, having spent five years at Montverde Academy, the same high school that produced Ben Simmons and D’Angelo Russell.

His season at Duke was cut short with injuries to his right foot, requiring two surgeries, the more recent earlier this month. And like Caris LeVert, who also had foot injuries before being drafted in 2016, the more recent surgery was performed at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, the Nets official hospital, by Dr. Martin O’Malley, the Nets official foot and ankle specialist.

“He will begin his rehab process in two weeks and should be ready for full participation at the start of NBA training camp,” Dr. O’Malley said in a statement at the time of the surgery on June 7. “A revision operation with bone grafting for a fifth metatarsal Jones fracture.”

Whitehead tweeted his own optimism after the procedure at HSS...

Does O’Malley’s role provide the Nets with an advantage? More than one mock thought it does. as it did with LeVert. As of now, teams have adopted a wait-and-see attitude, not being able to work out the 18-year-old who is one of the youngest players in the Draft. At Duke, he was basically a shell of his high school self, averaging 8.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game in his lone season at Duke while shooting 42.1% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range.

In lieu of a highlight package, here’s a scouting report...

Whitehead was not on hand at Barclays Center Thursday but shortly before midnight tweeted this...

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