Nets lottery pick Mikel Brown Jr. sprained his left ankle last week and still hasn’t been cleared for contact, Brian Lewis of the New York Post reports.

“Yeah, as of right now they’re just telling me you could get back moving a little bit, really just trying to get the strengthening it up back,” Brown said. “I mean, I am back on the court moving. That’s all I’m really worried about right now. I’m just taking it one step at a time.”

Brown would like to accelerate the process but the medical staff is holding him back.

“I feel like I have no choice but to be patient,” Brown said. “I want to be out there so bad, but they’ve just been emphasizing to me, ‘Let’s take our time with this stuff and get you back 100 percent,’ which me, I’m trying to play as soon as possible. So really just attacking this rehab, focusing on stuff that I can control.”

Here’s more on the Nets:

• Guard Egor Demin would like the ball in his hands more often this season, according to C.J. Holmes of the New York Daily News. “I think last season it was a lot more off the ball, kind of catch-and-shoot type of plays,” Dëmin said. “While at BYU I was 80% of the game, I was with the ball in my hands.” Demin later added, “I think this year what I’m emphasizing on is getting to the lane, getting to the paint, which is going to open up so much more opportunities for exactly that. For being able to create not just for myself but for others and having opportunities for passes and playing in transition, playing fast basketball.”
• Day’Ron Sharpe is the projected starter at center but newcomer Moritz Wagner will also get a chunk of playing time, coach Jordi Fernandez told Lewis. “It’s a challenge because the minutes are going to go up,” Fernández said. “But I want them to fight for a starting spot. So right now, whether it’s Day’Ron or Mo, they’ve never been at starting minutes. I see it more like a group that works well together. They challenge but embrace each other. It could be different guys finishing games, different guys starting games Also, to me, their health and their bodies are very important and I have to be cautious with how much I do to them. … But I don’t think minutes are going to be an issue.”
• Keon Ellis said that playing for Fernandez again was high on his list of reasons for joining the Nets. Ellis signed a two-year, $18MM deal in free agency in July. “In this game — and it is a business — having someone like Jordi being the head coach, someone you’re familiar with, [is big]. You know all the schemes, you know what he’s about, you know what they want to run,” Ellis told Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “It’s a safe space right there. He’s familiar with my game, I’m familiar with how he rocks. That was the No. 1 thing. He knows how I play, and I know how he wants his team to play. I know I can have a big impact in that way.” Ellis played for the Kings when Fernandez was an assistant coach there from 2022-24.