Former Duke swingman Dariq Whitehead will undergo a second procedure on his right foot after a preseason surgery on that foot didn’t heal properly, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Whitehead, who is the No. 23 prospect on ESPN’s big board and is considered a probable first-round pick, recently met with multiple specialists and determined that a second procedure will be necessary. The expectation is that he’ll be fully recovered for the start of the 2023/24 NBA season, his agents at Excel Sports Management tell Wojnarowski.
A five-star recruit out of high school, Whitehead was widely viewed as a potential lottery pick entering the college season, but has seen his stock drop a bit since then. The 6’7″ wing averaged just 8.3 points per game on .421/.429/.793 shooting in 28 games (20.6 MPG) during his freshman season, chipping in 2.4 RPG and 1.0 APG.
Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report previously stated (via Twitter) that Whitehead’s draft range may be among the widest of this year’s first-round prospects. Today’s news could further divide opinions on the former Blue Devil and will likely negatively impact his stock.
Even if Whitehead is ready to go in the fall, as his representatives say he will be, he’ll miss his first Summer League this July and will find himself a little behind his fellow rookies by the time training camps open. According to Wojnarowski, Whitehead is expected to attend this month’s draft combine, so teams will get an opportunity to meet with him and presumably check out his medical info at that time.
Who was advising him to enter the draft? You are not even averaging 10 points a game and it would different if he was over 7 feet tall.
Can’t say I’m all that surprised, there are countless freshmen that are told they’ll likely be 2nd Round draft picks, and they’re also advised to go ahead and go for the draft.
I’m not so sure I agree with this as opposed to staying in a big time college program, but I guess to each their own.
I’m under the belief a prospect only gets so many real chances at being an impact player in an NBA team’s rotation. I also think that you’re alot more likely to get more chances if you’re an early to mid first round pick as opposed to a late first round to second round pick…
Therefore, if you can stay in college, increase your draft stock, and get drafted within the first 10-15 picks, then that would be the road I’d advise any future NBA prospects.
Like I said, I think you can make it as an UDFA or as a 2nd Round pick, but I also think you really only get 1 or maybe 2 years at a real shot of making an NBA career that way, before you get lost in the shuffle. You’d be alot more likely to get more chances as a lottery pick or near lottery pick.
Being an early first Rounder can buy you at least 3 or 4 years and quite a few opportunities even on multiple teams for some players…
Whitehead is a player. He’s a steal late first rd.