this nets Published Darrick Whitehead and Drew Timmthe team announced on Monday (Twitter link via SNY.tv’s Ian Begley).
Whitehead's axing is significant because he $3,262,560 USD Salaries for the 2025/26 season are fully guaranteed, meaning the Nets will now face a dead money cap. Assuming he clears immunity, Whitehead's $5,366,912 USD As part of the deal, the team option for the 2026/27 season will be declined.
Whitehead, a 6-foot-7 wing, was a highly regarded high school recruit who dealt with multiple injuries over the past few years. After one season at Duke, Brooklyn selected Whitehead with the 22nd overall pick in the 2023 draft, but the 21-year-old has played in only 22 NBA games over the past two seasons, averaging 5.3 points and 1.5 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game.
As ESPN's Bobby Marks tweeted, giving up Whitehead would put the Nets $16,000 above the NBA's minimum salary floor. Marks added that Brooklyn needs to get over the salary cap by next Tuesday.
Timme had a stellar college career at Gonzaga but went undrafted in 2023 and spent most of the past two seasons in the G League. He was offered a standard two-year contract in late March after a stellar “24/25” regular season with the Nets' Long Island affiliate.
At the end of June, the Nets signed Tim for $1,955,377, but his salary is completely non-guaranteed, so they will not have a salary cap impact by cutting him. The 25-year-old forward/center averaged 12.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists (28.2 mpg) in nine games with Brooklyn last season. His shooting line was .441/.257/.625.
Brian Lewis of the New York Post noted that since Timme only has one year of NBA experience, he could theoretically return to the Nets in a two-way trade if Timme goes unclaimed (Twitter link). However, Lewis reported that the team has yet to determine whether Timme will earn the final two-way spot.
Giving up Whitehead and Timme could mean the Nets are making a choice Jaylen Wilson and Tyrese Martin for their 15th standard roster spot. Wilson has $88,000 partially guaranteed, which would increase to about $382,000 if he makes the regular-season roster, while Martin's contract is completely non-guaranteed.