Brooklyn Nets fans will tune in this season primarily to watch top-10 picks Mikel Brown Jr. and Egor Demin. However, they may have to wait before they see the duo on the floor together consistently.
Brown didn't share the floor with Demin during his debut in the Nets' preseason finale. After missing most of the preseason with an ankle injury, the No. 6 pick will start the regular season coming off the bench with a minutes restriction.
Demin told ClutchPoints that he hasn't played much alongside Brown in scrimmages at practices so far.
“[Mikel's] been coming back [from the ankle], so it's been a little bit harder for the coaching staff to put it all together since we had to play with the [starting] five that was playing in the preseason games. So hopefully we're going to start playing more together,” he said following Monday's practice.
Demin shared the floor with Brown for extended periods with the Nets' Summer League team. He added on Monday that he played alongside Brown “a lot” during the Nets' open runs leading up to training camp. How did he feel about his chemistry with Brown during those games?
“Good. He's an amazing player,” Demin said. “He's super easy to play with because he's extremely unselfish. He's a winner no matter where it is. And he just makes everybody's life easier.”
Egor Demin told me he hasn’t gotten to play alongside Mikel Brown Jr. much during practices thus far:
“[Mikel’s] been coming back [from the ankle], so it’s been a little harder for the coaching staff to put us all together. Since we had to play with this five that was playing in… pic.twitter.com/c6WiEomp8D
— Erik Slater (@ErikSlater_) October 19, 2026
Brown impressed during his Nets preseason debut against the Miami Heat.
When will Nets showcase much-anticipated Egor Demin, Mikel Brown Jr. pairing?
The 6-foot-4 guard flashed the dynamic skill set that attracted the Nets in the draft, scoring 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting with three assists, two steals and only one turnover in 18 minutes.
“[Mikel looked] extremely comfortable,” Demin said. “I thought he could have whatever he wanted out there, and I'm proud of him for staying patient with whatever he needed to deal with. And I'm super happy for him to be back, finally get to play more and get to play minutes out there.”
Brown projects to serve as the Nets' lead ball-handler when sharing the floor with Demin, who played primarily off the ball as a rookie. However, he filled an off-ball role for extended stretches during his debut while sharing the floor with point guard Nolan Traore.
While Demin and Traore offer different skill sets, Brown is comfortable playing alongside either on or off the ball.
Article Continues Below“It doesn't change anything. I think we're all positionless,” he said. “Either way, we have both playmakers on the floor, whether it's me and Egor, me and Nolan, me and Ben, all the guards. I think we're all playmakers at the end of the day, so we can play off the ball, get in the half court and make something happen, just be ourselves. I don't think we have to really change anything, just continue to be ourselves with whatever lineup we got out there.”
Veteran guard Keon Ellis will start alongside Demin to open the regular season. While Brown will open the year with the second unit, it shouldn't be long before he joins Demin in the starting lineup.
Demin also missed Brooklyn's first three preseason games as a rookie while dealing with a plantar fascia tear. He came off the bench for his first seven regular-season appearances before joining the starting five for the rest of the year.
“I'm pretty sure we'll see that,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said at Media Day when asked about Demin and Brown sharing the floor. “The ability for both of them to shoot, their ability to create, and their positional size [stands out]. I also can see the different timelines. It's almost like Egor has already gone through that first year. Mikel is going through [that now]. I can see them building this relationship and trust, where one can help the other… It's about building that trust on the court within the group, so when things get tough on the court, we can overcome those situations.
And I think these guys, at their age, will be very exciting to watch. You guys will see how they can complement each other. But until we see it on the court, we're not going to be able to make the adjustments and [implement] what we work on in those things. But they definitely have been brought here for a reason, the same as everybody else.”