Nets Without Rookie Guard Mikel Brown Jr. as Preseason Opener Tests Charlotte's Youth Movement

Brooklyn opens its preseason in Charlotte without its top rookie guard against a Hornets team still finding its new identity.

BKN @ CHA Oct 6, 2026 at 11:00 PM UTC

Preseason openers rarely hinge on schemes, but this one has a clear storyline: Brooklyn will be missing Mikel Brown Jr. The sixth overall pick and a possible long-term point guard is out with an ankle issue, and the Nets have also ruled out fellow rookie Jefferson. That removes one of the most interesting young players on the roster from the first look at Brooklyn's rebuilt group, and it limits how much the Nets can learn about their backcourt of the future.

With the rookies sidelined, more of the spotlight lands on Julius Randle, the top offseason acquisition and the veteran expected to steer Brooklyn's young core. His job is to give a roster still climbing out of the bottom of the East some structure. Brooklyn has new faces and a fresh "Shock the World" motto, but early in October that kind of energy has to translate into cohesion, and a team still sorting out its rotation may struggle to find it.

Charlotte has its own questions, but its direction is clearer. The Hornets have moved on from LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges and handed the team to a youth movement, with Brandon Miller expected to carry more responsibility alongside Kon Knueppel. Grant Williams, Knueppel and Coby White all appear on the injury list with hamstring and calf issues, so Charlotte's rotation could be fluid. Still, playing at home with its core pieces in a defined role gives the Hornets a modest edge over a Brooklyn group missing its rookie point guard.

These teams meet again in the Oct. 21 regular-season opener in Brooklyn, so both coaching staffs will be careful about what they show. I expect a choppy, rotation-heavy game in which Charlotte's greater clarity on who leads it makes the difference late.

Prediction: Hornets 112, Nets 106.

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