Jordi Fernández must choose between Julius Randle’s veteran playmaking and the electric pick-and-roll potential of Mikel Brown Jr. to anchor Brooklyn’s offense for the upcoming season.
The Brooklyn Nets' training camp is underway, and one question hangs over coach Jordi Fernández's head: who will handle the ball next season?
Rookie Mikel Brown Jr., second-year guard Egor Dëmin and 12-year veteran Julius Randle are Brooklyn's starters. Brown and Randle have experience as primary ball-handlers, and Dëmin has shown significant improvement as a shot creator in summer league.
Only one can assume the duties, leaving the others to play off the primary.
Randle is an established high-usage playmaker. He's averaged over four assists per game since his second season with the New York Knicks in 2020-21.
His playmaking thrives in transition off a defensive rebound, pushing the pace on a fast break. The 31-year-old can pass out of a double team, too, which happens often when he's in the post and uses his size to back down a smaller defender.
It's simple, effective and reliable. Fernández can rely on his veteran to stabilize the offense throughout the game, especially in a close fourth quarter.
The 12-year-veteran is the least efficient off-ball player of the trio. He's used to sharing ball-handling reps, not sitting at the wings or corners waiting for a catch-and-shoot three or cut to the rim.
Randle is the most experienced, but he's highlighted that Brown and Dëmin are at similar levels in their pick-and-roll reps.
“Mikel’s coming off a pick-and-roll and really understands how to read and play the game," Randle said at Media Day. "And Egor does the same,”
Brown is a natural fit to assume ball-handling responsibilities as a point guard. He led the Louisville Cardinals offense as a freshman, averaging 4.7 assists per game.
The Nets rookie manipulates the pick-and-roll with a quick first step, either splitting the defensive coverage or freezing them with a hesitation. Brown can come off a screen for a pull-up three, which forces opposing defenses to switch their pick-and-roll coverage to respect his ability to shoot and drive downhill.
Former Louisville alumnus Donovan Mitchell praised the rookie guard's high IQ, comparing him to his teammate, James Harden, who is a pick-and-roll master.
Dëmin is developing as a ball-handler heading into his second season. He was Brooklyn's No. 1 option in summer league before Brown joined in Las Vegas.
The second-year guard isn't the playmaker his teammates are, but he'll need the reps to prove his downhill scoring can translate in the regular season.
Training camp will answer who the Nets' primary ball-handler is throughout next season. It's the perfect time for Fernández to experiment and note the most efficient way to divide touches between an experienced veteran and two young franchise cornerstones.
