Brooklyn Nets rookie guard Mikel Brown Jr. is still in the early stages of his NBA journey, but one thing already feels settled: his connection with Egor Demin.
Brown said the bond with Demin has come together quickly, and he made it clear the two have clicked both on and off the floor. On the "Nets Pod With Sarah Kustok" podcast, Brown described Demin as more than just a teammate.
"It's great. That's my dog, man.
We joke all the time. I don't know if y'all seen it during the game, we were going back and forth all the time during the game, just joking around," Brown said during his appearance on the "Nets Pod With Sarah Kustok" podcast of his relationship with Egor Demin.
Brown could be in a position to play alongside Demin in the starting lineup, but that could depend on how the rookie performs in training camp.
Brown expanded on why the relationship has taken hold so quickly, pointing to the fact that both players are young and trying to grow together.
"That relationship is great. I think we kind of understand that me and him are kind of the young guns coming up and just looking to get better," Brown continued on his early connection with Demin.
"[We're] looking to make each other better as well, I think me and him could testify to this. My job was to make life easier on him, and his job was to make life easier on me.
So, that bond clicked right away."
Brown, 20, has already had a busy start to his pro career after being drafted and playing in the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer League. He turned in a strong summer, averaging 15.0 points, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 38.8% from the field and 34.6% from three-point range.
That summer run offered an early look at what Brooklyn might have in Brown and Demin as a backcourt pairing. Brown’s quick-hit passing meshes with Demin’s improved ability to get to the basket, giving the Nets a glimpse of a potentially natural fit.
Training camp in the fall will give head coach Jordi Fernandez a better sense of where Brown stands, both against Brooklyn’s veterans and in comparison with incumbent point guards Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf. Brown has long believed he can handle the point guard role, and now he’ll get his next chance to prove it while carrying an already-formed connection with one of the other young players in the room.
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