AUGUST 6: Whitehead’s deal is now official, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
AUGUST 3: Former Nets point guard Isaiah Whitehead will spend the 2018/19 season in Russia, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype (Twitter link), who hears from sources that Whitehead has signed a one-year, $1.1MM contract with Lokomotiv Kuban.
As Kennedy details, Whitehead – released by the Nuggets last month – hopes to have a strong season as a lead guard for the Russian club and show he’s fully healthy in 2018/19 before attempting to return to the NBA a year from now.
Whitehead, 23, was selected by the Nets with the 42nd overall pick in the 2016 draft and spent two seasons with the team, appearing in 89 overall games. The former Seton Hall standout was a regular part of Brooklyn’s rotation in his rookie season, but saw his playing time cut back in 2017/18 as he spent more time with the Long Island Nets in the G League. Whitehead averaged 22.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 3.5 APG in 30 games for the Nets’ NBAGL affiliate.
The Brooklyn native was included in the trade last month that saw Kenneth Faried, Darrell Arthur, and a pair of draft picks head from the Nuggets to the Nets. Whitehead was sent to Denver as part of that swap, but only because his non-guaranteed contract allowed the Nuggets to avoid taking on any salary — Denver waived him a few days later, making him an unrestricted free agent.
As our 2018 free agent tracker shows, Whitehead is far from the first NBA free agent to take his talents overseas this summer. Al Jefferson, Shane Larkin, Marreese Speights, and Joffrey Lauvergne are among the others moving to international leagues.