Nets Prioritize Long-Term Health for Rookie Mikel Brown Jr.

Brooklyn Nets rookie Mikel Brown Jr. will continue to play under a minutes restriction as the team adopts a strategy to prioritize his long-term development and health. This approach is expected to persist for the foreseeable future.

"It's how it is until we change it, and right now we know the sample size is going to be way bigger," Nets coach Jordi Fernández stated Friday. "It’s not just, ‘Oh, one game, he’s good to go.’ … I mean, if you guys think about it, he played [21 games last season]. This season is 82, right? Is he gonna play all 82? No."

Brown, the No. 6 overall pick, missed the Nets' first three preseason games due to an ankle injury. In his NBA debut, he was limited to just under 20 minutes in the season-opening loss to the Hornets, recording six points, three rebounds, and three assists while shooting 2 of 8 from the field. He also played 18 minutes in the preseason finale.

The team's plan for Brown involves building his body to withstand the demands of an NBA season. "We're gonna build him to be healthy and to be a strong NBA player," Fernández added. "We have a plan for him. Obviously, we’re not gonna disclose every step of the way, but the No. 1 thing is to build him up and build up his body to be able to sustain the minutes that can help the team win games."

During his sole season at Louisville, Brown missed 14 games due to a lower back injury. Despite this history, the Nets felt confident in his recovery to select him as their highest draft pick in 16 years. His college career at Louisville saw the team go 16-3 with him in the lineup before his back injury sidelined him for the postseason. He had a standout freshman season, scoring 29 points in a win over rival Kentucky and setting an ACC freshman single-game record with 45 points in February.

The need for Brown's offensive impact was apparent in the Nets' season opener, where only two players scored in double figures. Teammate Michael Porter Jr. expressed his enthusiasm for Brown's future. "I’m really excited for Mikel to continue to grow and play and get more minutes and be out there with us," Porter Jr. said. "There’s been practices where he’s completely dominated, played with the second group and won the day because he was killing it. He has so many tools to be elite offensively and defensively in the future."

Porter Jr. further commented on Brown's offensive capabilities, noting, "But offensively, for sure he’s a high-level scorer, he’s a high-level shotmaker, he can get others involved, so there’s not a lot of weakness in his game. As he gets more minutes, it’ll slow down for him. He has a very bright future. He has already shown that."