Mikel Brown Jr. minutes limit isn't ending soon for Nets

Nets fans hoping the training wheels were about to come off their top rookie got a pretty blunt answer from the head coach on Friday.

Erik Slater

@ErikSlater_

Jordi Fernandez said Mikel Brown Jr. won't be off his minutes restriction anytime soon: "We have a plan from our medical and performance [team]... At some point, he'll be able to play more minutes, he'll be able to play back-to-backs, but it's not right now or anytime soon.” t.co/0nrwR0x9UZ

"Not right now or anytime soon" doesn't leave much wiggle room. This isn't Fernandez being cagey about a timeline. The medical and performance staff have a plan, and the coach is telling everyone to stop asking. Brown came into the league as the No. 6 overall pick out of Louisville, and Brooklyn is treating the whole thing like a long-term investment, not a sprint to see how many minutes they can squeeze out of him in October.

You can see why they're being careful. Brown missed 14 games at Louisville with a back injury, then rolled his ankle in training camp and missed most of the preseason. He got exactly 18 preseason minutes and put up 15 points against the Heat in that time, so the talent is obviously there. Brooklyn also pointed to how much he's played in a year: a college season, predraft workouts, Summer League and camp, all before an NBA game counted. Fernandez has also said he won't start Brown until the kid is cleared for more than 24 minutes. Put that together with no back-to-backs and Brown stays a bench guy for a while.

That's where the other question comes in. Brown and Egor Demin, the former No. 8 pick, are supposed to be the backcourt of the future in Brooklyn, and so far they haven't played a single minute together. Fernandez had a little fun with the reporters who brought it up.

Erik Slater

@ErikSlater_

Jordi Fernandez on why Mikel Brown Jr. and Egor Demin haven't played any minutes together thus far: “If you guys do your subs, like all the fantasy that you guys do, try to do it yourself. It's pretty hard to share minutes when it's on the bench, off the bench. I'm trying to work the groups and trying to have guys play together, but it's hard to do it in certain ways without breaking up the player's rhythm.” Does he expect Brown and Demin to share the court in the coming games? "I don't know. I'll try all the combinations, but again, it's harder when you come off the bench and you have a minute restriction to get all the combinations without messing up other players' minutes. Do I want to see them together? Yes. It's hard for me to predict right now. What I want is to find the right groups that can function together and be efficient."

Telling the room to try doing the substitutions themselves is a great coach answer. It's also basically true. Demin is on the floor with one group, Brown comes off the bench with another, and when Brown's minutes are capped there isn't much room to stagger them so the two overlap without wrecking everybody else's rotation. Fernandez said he'll "try all the combinations," but he wouldn't say when.

So for now, the whole Brown-Demin thing is still a preseason talking point. Everybody in Brooklyn wants to see these 2 together because that's the pitch for this rebuild. The medical staff is the one setting the pace, though, and Fernandez is backing them. Watch for 2 things: Brown's first back-to-back appearance, and the first night he gets cleared past 24 minutes. Once either one happens, the restriction is loosening and the Demin pairing should come right after. Until then, enjoy the flashes and don't get mad at the box score.