Mikel Brown Jr. still hasn’t made his preseason debut, but the buzz around him hasn’t slowed down one bit.
The No. 6 pick’s status for Monday night in Washington against the Wizards and overall No. 1 pick A.J. Dybantsa remains up in the air.
How he looks in Sunday afternoon practice at HSS Training Center figures to go a long way toward determining whether he plays. If Brown Jr. doesn’t go Monday, the next chance for fans to see him could be Wednesday in Miami against the new-look Heat.
The wait has been especially tough because of the pairing everyone wants to see: Brown Jr. alongside Egor Demin. In two preseason wins, Demin has looked like a different player, though he already showed plenty last season and in Summer League.
Nets fans have been eyeing the two as the backcourt of the future, and there’s a reason for that. They are the highest Nets back-to-back picks in 30 years.
Brown Jr. and Demin both call each other “brother.”
For now, the conversation around Brown Jr. has come from the people around him. General manager Sean Marks, who selected him in June, told Sirius/XM recently that the rookie has been carrying himself like a veteran. Marks said Brown Jr. has been organizing team dinners, bringing teammates along with him and becoming a vocal presence on and off the floor.
“He doesn’t act like a rookie. He has a presence about him that you’d say, he’s kind of been there, done that before.
Took guys to dinner, took guys under his wing. He’s a vocal leader,” said Mark describing his “swagger“
”He shares the ball, very encouraging teammate... He wanted the best for others, and that really resonated within the locker room.”
Julius Randle, the Nets’ veteran leader with 13 years experience and it’s most accomplished player, sees it the same way. He said the Louisville product isn’t playing like a young guy trying to force everything.
“Usually when you’re a young player, you want to try to get a basket every single time, but he’s coming off a pick and roll and really understands how to read and play the game,” Randle said.
Those traits don’t surprise the two men who know Brown Jr. best away from the Nets, his father Chris Brown Sr. and Bootsy Thornton, who played shooting guard at St. John’s and coached Brown Jr. in Orlando.
C.J. Holmes of the Daily News spoke with both recently.
Brown Sr. laid out what the days look like for his son right now. Since Summer League, Mikel’s alarm has been going off at 6:30 a.m.
He gets to the facility around 7:30, works with the team through early afternoon, then moves on to lifting, recovery and a massage. At night, he’s often back to shoot around 7 p.m. and doesn’t wrap up until close to 10 p.m.
That routine isn’t just about conditioning. It’s also about learning the teammates around him.
Brown Sr. said his son studies their tendencies and the shots they’re trying to add, and he watches film with coaches every day. Sometimes he goes over the same material multiple times so it sticks by the next practice.
“It’s one thing to make the NBA, it’s another thing to stick in the NBA,” Chris Brown Sr. said.
Thornton sees Brown Jr. fitting into the Nets’ system as a point guard who can still put points on the board when needed.
“I envision him as a point guard, to be honest with you,” Thornton told Holmes. “He’s a point guard who can score.”
Thornton added that Brown Jr. should be able to help right away with scoring and passing, including the kind of hockey assists that lead to the actual bucket.
There’s also the physical side of the adjustment. Brown Jr.’s slight frame could make him a target, and his father said the Nets have been focused on building up his base and core so he can take contact and stay balanced through drives.
Brown Jr. knows the game is already asking him to slow down. At Louisville, defenders could load up in the paint and cut off his drives.
Summer League showed him more space, but it also exposed moments when he rushed, got stuck on drives, went off one foot and made the wrong read. Since then, he’s worked on finding his spots, stopping on two feet and getting his body under control before deciding where the ball should go.
“I just got to really slow down,” Brown added.
That said, he doesn’t plan to lose what makes him dangerous.
“That swagger is going to stay regardless. And I’m a high-risk, high-reward guy. Obviously I know sometimes it’s better to hit the single and that’s what I’ve been talking to my coaches about, and I’ve gotten better at that.”
In Other News...
Egor Demin Is Giving The Nets A Reason To Watch Closely
Egor Demin has already given the Nets a little something to monitor as the season takes shape, and it starts with the way he talks about his role. The young guard-forward has made clear he wants to help in whatever way the team needs, whether that means handling the ball or working alongside another creator, and he has framed his approach around winning rather than chasing numbers. For a Brooklyn group still sorting through its long-term pieces, that kind of flexibility is exactly the sort of trait that can make a prospect stand out.
Coach Jordi Fernndez has noticed the progress, too, pointing to how much Demin has improved since last year and how his voice is starting to carry more weight. That matters for a Nets team looking for players who can grow into bigger responsibilities without needing everything scripted for them. Demin is not the only young player around the league drawing attention for versatility, but in Brooklyn, his development has started to feel like one of the more relevant storylines to keep an eye on. [Read more 🡒]
Egor Demin Is Forcing A Real Nets Rotation Conversation
Egor Demin has spent Nets training camp and the early preseason making himself part of the conversation, and that alone is a meaningful step after an uneven rookie season. The young guard has shown more comfort, more versatility and a better feel for how Brooklyn wants to play, enough for the coaching staff to note real progress as he works to carve out a larger role.
For a team still sorting out its rotation, Demins growth adds another layer to the decisions ahead. Brooklyn is experimenting with different lineup combinations in the preseason as it looks for ways to maximize spacing and flexibility, and that kind of tinkering can open doors for players who keep stacking good days. The question now is whether Demins momentum holds once the games start to count and the Nets have to settle on who fits where. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Rebuild Still Hinges On One Risk Fans Will Feel Early
The Nets head into the 2026-27 season with a roster that looks very much like a rebuilding team still learning on the fly, blending a handful of established names with a wave of players just getting their NBA footing. Julius Randle, Keon Ellis and Mo Wagner give Brooklyn some needed ballast, but the bigger story is the sheer amount of inexperience surrounding them, which can speed up the future just as easily as it can expose the rough edges of it.
Brooklyns front office has clearly leaned into the long view, and the early months of the season figure to show how much patience that approach will require. With so many first- and second-year players on the roster, the Nets are banking on development to outweigh the usual growing pains, but the balance between progress and pain is exactly what will make this group worth watching from the start. [Read more 🡒]