Dariq Whitehead arrived in Brooklyn as one of the youngest players in Nets history, and a former local phenom expected to blossom into an NBA standout.

After a litany of injuries, Whitehead is going into his third season still looking for a foothold in the league, and facing not only a pivotal training camp but a numbers crunch at his position.

The Newark native is still just 21, but on a tanking team going through a youth movement with a record five first-round picks, Whitehead isn’t as young as he used to be. To paraphrase Yogi Berra, it’s getting late early here.

“For me, I feel like this was honestly my most important summer,” Whitehead said heading into training camp.

“Not being able to do what I had needed to do the past three summers, being able to work out, work on my body. Jus

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