Brooklyn Nets rookie guard Mikel Brown Jr. is back on the floor, but not yet back in the role plenty of people expected him to claim.
Brown made his NBA debut in Wednesday’s 144-128 preseason finale loss to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat after working his way back from a left ankle sprain. He came off the bench in that game, and the way head coach Jordi Fernandez described things on Friday suggests that setup may stick for a while.
“You guys can look at what starter minutes are, and I think you can answer that question for yourself. Usually, if you play less than 24 minutes, it’s hard to start [you] because otherwise, it’s hard to finish minutes with that player,” Fernandez said after practice.
Brown logged 18 minutes against Miami and still managed 15 points, three assists, and two steals. Even with that production, Fernandez made it clear Brooklyn wants to be patient with how it handles the rookie’s workload.
“Sometimes, it’s just you can do it in many different ways and and so forth. But, we're not there yet for that reason.
I need him to build the right way and impact the game,” Fernandez continued. “As you're building [while] coming on the bench, I still have the luxury to finish games with them if I need to, and that's the type of team that we have here.
We have a team that whoever's playing well that game will have a chance to finish, and it will help us win the game.”
That’s a notable shift from what many around the league likely assumed when Brooklyn selected Brown with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. The expectation was that he’d be the starting point guard for the Nets in their home opener on Wednesday. Instead, his ankle injury hit before training camp officially got underway, and Brooklyn has opened the preseason with Egor Demin at point guard and Keon Ellis at shooting guard.
Fernandez hasn’t said exactly where Brown’s minutes cap sits, but the signs point to something close to 20 minutes per game until the ankle is strong enough for more. For now, the former Louisville Cardinal appears set to come off the bench, with the starting conversation waiting until his restriction loosens.
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