Jordi Fernandez made a significant change to the Brooklyn Nets' lineup three games into the season. The Nets head coach replaced veteran Keon Ellis with sophomore point guard Nolan Traore in the starting five during Tuesday's 125-124 loss to the Boston Celtics. He revealed the motivation behind the decision on Friday.

“Our shot selection was not great, and we had a lot of turnovers. I felt like having [Nolan] out there would help settle the group. I see Egor [Demin] as more of an off-ball gravity guy who can also handle. I think his superpower is to shoot the ball, to come off screens, to make decisions… The true point guards, to me, are Nolan and Mikel [Brown Jr.]. And right now, if they play with the first and second unit, I think that gives us [better] shot quality and fewer turnovers. So that was the intention of that change, and I think it went well.”

Asked Jordi Fernandez why he moved Nolan Traore into the starting lineup:

“Our shot selection was not great, and we had a lot of turnovers. I felt like Nolan would help settle the group. I see Egor as more of an off-ball gravity guy who can also handle. I think his superpower is… pic.twitter.com/m4wdSkzzOF

— Erik Slater (@ErikSlater_) October 30, 2026

Traore's addition to the starting lineup came after Demin started Brooklyn's first three games at point guard alongside Ellis. Demin, who played point guard at BYU and for stretches last season, struggled to organize the offense.

The Nets ranked 24th (106.4) in offensive rating while committing the fourth-most turnovers (18.7) in the NBA. Demin struggled individually, averaging 9.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 turnovers on 8-of-26 (30.8 percent) shooting from the field and 6-of-19 (31.6 percent) from three.

Nets move Nolan Traore into starting lineup after rough offensive start to season

Brooklyn Nets guard Nolan Traore (10) shoots the ball as Washington Wizards guard Trae Young (3) looks on in the first half at Capital One Arena.
Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Traore delivered his best performance of the season in Boston. The speedy point guard posted 15 points and three assists on 6-of-9 shooting in 24 minutes before cramping forced him out.

Nolan Traore is playing with confidence during his first start of the season.

He's got nine first-quarter points on 4/4 shooting and has already scored on Tatum, PG, and Pritchard. Touching the paint whenever he wants. pic.twitter.com/QhaK1UGTX6

— Erik Slater (@ErikSlater_) October 28, 2026

His consistent paint touches helped spark the Nets' offense, as they posted 125 points, 26 assists and 15 turnovers while attempting a season-high 50 threes.

“[Nolan] worked really hard the whole summer. His body looks good. Now he's more equipped to get to the paint and finish,” Fernandez said. “And he was obviously equipped to get into the [paint last season], but you didn't know exactly what would happen there because of the physicality. And right now it looks much better. So that's a product of the great work he put in with the coaches… He's confident; he looks good… He did a great job the other day. Obviously, I wanted him to play more minutes. He wanted to play more minutes. But I felt like he was not moving great, and that's the reason why I pulled him out.”

Based on Fernandez's comments, the Nets plan to stagger Traore and Brown, the No. 6 pick in this year's draft, at point guard moving forward. Brown has come off the bench to start the season while on a minutes restriction, which Fernandez said won't change “any time soon.”

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The rookie turned in his best performance of the season in Boston. After missing his first six shots, he scored 17 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. That included a fading three that tied the game with 0.2 seconds left in regulation.

However, Brown cost the Nets with his decision to attempt a layup up by one in the final seconds of overtime, rather than pull the ball out. After giving the ball back to Boston, the 20-year-old switched onto Jayson Tatum when he shouldn't have, leading to the Celtics star's game-winner.

The Nets announced on Thursday that Demin will be reevaluated in one week after being diagnosed with a bone bruise in his right leg. Chaney Johnson will replace him in the starting lineup during Friday's matchup with the Detroit Pistons.