Brown\u2019s first training camp began with a rolled left ankle<\/a>. While his teammates practice, he watches, asks questions and speaks up from the sideline. He wants to join them. His ankle has forced him to wait just as he was learning the value of moving at his own pace.<\/p>\nAt Louisville, defenders could sit in the paint and crowd his drives. The space in Summer League caught his attention. So did the touches he spoiled by rushing into it. Brown recalled getting stuck on drives, playing off one foot and making the wrong decision. He\u2019s since worked on finding his spots and stopping on two feet, bringing his body under control before deciding where the ball should go.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just got to really slow down,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n
The challenge is taking that extra beat while still trusting himself to act on what he sees. Brown likes ambitious passes. He trusts his reads, even when a turnover follows. His conversations with Nets coaches have centered on recognizing when the simpler play will do more for the possession.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat swagger is going to stay regardless. And I\u2019m a high-risk, high-reward guy,\u201d Brown said. \u201cObviously I know sometimes it\u2019s better to hit the single and that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been talking to my coaches about, and I\u2019ve gotten better at that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bootsy Thornton watched Summer League wishing Brown would attack more. A longtime family friend who helped coach him in Orlando, Thornton was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2000 Big East tournament at St. John\u2019s. He went on to play professionally in Europe for 14 years, earning All-EuroLeague second-team honors in 2008.<\/p>\n
Thornton also saw a willing passer who could run the show without getting credit for an assist on any given possession. Brown might make the pass that opens up the next one, moving the offense toward a shot somebody else finishes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI envision him as a point guard, to be honest with you,\u201d Thornton said. \u201cHe\u2019s a point guard who can score.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thornton believes Brown\u2019s passing and shooting can help Brooklyn immediately. Strength will take longer. Brown averaged 18.2 points and 4.7 assists in 21 games at Louisville, where a back injury interrupted his only college season. His father, Chris Brown Sr., said the Nets have focused on Mikel\u2019s base and core, building the foundation that will help him absorb contact and keep his balance through a drive.<\/p>\n
Chris expects opponents to test his upper body.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not in a rush, but every day just get stronger,\u201d Chris said.<\/p>\n
The days have filled up quickly. Since Summer League, Chris said, Mikel\u2019s alarm has gone off at 6:30 a.m. He reaches the facility around 7:30 and works with the team through early afternoon. Then comes the lifting, recovery and a massage. Most evenings, he returns to shoot around 7 p.m. and finishes close to 10 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to make the NBA, it\u2019s another thing to stick in the NBA,\u201d Chris said.<\/p>\n
Some of the work is learning the people who will share the court with him. Chris said his son studies his teammates\u2019 tendencies and the shots they are trying to add. Mikel watches film with the coaches every day, sometimes going through the same material several times so he can carry it into the next practice.<\/p>\n
Then he has to make himself heard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need you to speak up more. We need you to be more communicative. We need that this year,\u201d Brown said they told him. Randle, he added, has been on him about using his voice.<\/p>\n
Brown will have plenty of company when it comes to creating offense. Randle expects to work from the post and short roll as well as with the ball in his hands. D\u00ebmin wants to touch the paint more after spending much of his rookie season behind the arc. Head coach Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez expects to use Brown and D\u00ebmin together, drawn by their size, shooting and ability to create. He wants to see the pairing on the floor before deciding how it works best.<\/p>\n
Their friendship has a head start. D\u00ebmin calls Brown his brother, though they\u2019ve known each other only a few months. One season into his own NBA career, D\u00ebmin hopes to help Brown through difficult stretches and give him someone to talk to. The two have begun finding their way together before they have had much chance to do it in games.<\/p>\n
Away from the gym, Brown is learning what to do when he\u2019s not on the team\u2019s schedule. He has more freedom to decide when he sleeps, eats and recovers. His parents still talk through those choices with him. They have also urged him to get out and see Brooklyn. Chris said his son has mostly stayed near home and the facility, aside from trips to a halal truck around the corner.<\/p>\n
When asked at Media Day how much he had explored, Mikel said he finally made it downtown.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo school is great. No school is great. My mom is going to hit me on the head for that one,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n
The time school once occupied now has to serve his body, his film work and a life he is still beginning to build in Brooklyn. Choosing how to use it is part of growing into the job, too.<\/p>\n
For now, the ankle has interrupted the routine just as camp has begun. Brown is moving on the court without contact, taking in the team\u2019s drills and installations, then watching practice film afterward. He\u2019s learning where everyone needs to be while waiting for the chance to join them.<\/p>\n
Randle has heard him communicating from the sideline, using the voice his teammates asked him to find. Even here, Brown has a way to help the Nets.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I have no choice but to be patient,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI want to be out there so bad.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mikel Brown Jr. broke a driver during a summer golf outing in Texas. The 20-year-old and his new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":366857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,3705,135765,106113,4475,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-366856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-jr","tag-julius-randle-nba","tag-mikel-brown","tag-nets","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}