The main trail is a hike up. No short ropes needed. No scree. Just a trail. No permits allocated to guides from the lottery, and I had thought no guiding permitted on the main trail in summer. (Mountaineeers Route, by contrast, does have scree, class 3/4, etc.)
Don't they release all the unpaid permits on something like May 1? (Since I am not in the lottery this year I am not paying attention.) If so, you get another chance to wake up in the early morning and try to snag permits when they are released. I did that last year.
If that doesn't happen, then after the big release of unpaid permits, keep checking back on recreation.gov every day and you'll find permits released here and there (i.e., when someone cancels). Especially maybe 1-3 weeks before your trip.
If that doesn't happen, then do a mid-week Walk in. Your chances are high of getting permits that way. Just don't have your heart set on Friday and Saturday in peak season, though even that may be doable.
So if it were me, I'd have a plan B and get permits for that plan ahead of time. Probably hike Langley, right next door, also 22 miles round trip, also a 14er, great views, need permits for Cottonwood Lakes trail. Or else White Mountain, third highest mountain in California (also a 14er), no permit needed unless you sleep at the trailhead, in which case you need a California campfire permit if you are going to use your camp stove to cook dinner/breakfast, but those are easy to get. And then if you get permits for Whitney one of these other ways, go for it and cancel the Langley permits.
Or hike to the top of Whitney over several days as a backpack, from either Cottonwood Lakes or Cottonwood Pass trailhead, or from Onion Valley/Kearsarge Pass, if you have the days to do it. Need a permit, but easier to get.
