The Brooklyn Nets are currently 0-2 on their four-game road trip and up to this point, they have had two disappointing losses that have occurred in wildly different ways. Following the two losses, Brooklyn has been making it clear that the goal is for the team to come together before the season gets away from them, but they are also dealing with absences to compound the issue.
The Nets announced prior to Wednesday's matchup at the New Orleans Pelicans that the team will be without guards Nolan Traore and Mikel Brown Jr. due to their respective ailments. For Traore, he is dealing with right calf soreness and for the rookie Brown, he is working through an illness so Brooklyn will have to make up for the duo's ball-handling and playmaking abilities.
Brown, 20, is averaging 12.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game while shooting 34.6% from the field and 31.3% from behind the three-point line in seven games played. Traore, 20, has been having a spectacular start to the season as he's averaging 12.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 51.6% from the floor and 46.2% from deep.
Despite the fact that the Nets will not have Traore or Brown, Brooklyn will be getting back guard Egor Demin after missing the past six games due to a right leg bone bruise. "If I'm going there and I'm thinking about it, and I'm trying to be careful, that probably means that I shouldn't be there…But I feel confident about going out there and being 100% who I am," Demin said prior to Wednesday's matchup against the Pelicans, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post.
Demin, 20, was having an inconsistent season prior to his injury as he's averaging 7.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 31.0% from the field and 28.6% from behind the three-point line. Time will tell if Demin will walk into the role that he had prior to his injury, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him reprise his role as the starting point guard with Traore and Brown unavailable.
The Nets say Nolan Traore (right calf soreness) is OUT for tonight’s game at the Pelicans. With Traore and rookie Mikel Brown Jr. (illness) out for this game, Egor Demin and Brooklyn's other ball-handlers will have a lot of playmaking to make up for. https://t.co/Rec63rcbwB
— Sharif Phillips-Keaton (@SharifKeaton) November 11, 2026
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets' Mikel Brown Jr., Nolan Traore out Wednesday vs. Pelicans
