Nets rookie Mikel Brown Jr. set to make his debut Wednesday at Miami after ankle sprain

Mikel Brown Jr., the No. 6 pick in June’s draft, is in line to play his first game for the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday in Miami, after an ankle sprain kept him out of every preseason game so far. Brian Lewis of the New York Post first reported the plan, and ClutchPoints later confirmed it.

The timing matters because Wednesday is Brooklyn’s final preseason game. If Brown gets through it without a setback, the rookie guard should be available when the regular season opens on October 21 against Charlotte at Barclays Center.

Where his recovery stands

Brown hurt his left ankle in the days before training camp began and has been brought along slowly since. He sat out the preseason opener against the Hornets, was still listed with ankle trouble when the Nets played Philadelphia on October 8, and will not dress for Monday night’s game against the Wizards in Washington.

The recent signs are better. According to the reports, Brown was a full participant in practice over the weekend and took part in five-on-five work on Monday morning. Neither the Nets nor head coach Jordi Fernandez has said how many minutes he will get in Miami, and the team has not released an official update on the injury.

Before camp, Fernandez had been careful not to promise a date. Playing in the preseason was “the plan,” he said, but the staff wanted to see “what the next step is” first.

Why Brooklyn is eager to see him

The Nets used their top pick on Brown after a single season at Louisville, where he earned third-team All-ACC honors despite a back injury that cost him 14 games. In the 21 games he did play, he averaged 18.2 points, 4.7 assists and 2.6 made threes.

He gave Brooklyn an early look in July, with summer league outings that included 20 points against the Knicks and 16 against Sacramento.

The longer-term picture is a young backcourt built around Brown and Egor Demin, last year’s lottery pick. Both are tall guards who can shoot and run an offense, and his missed time means Wednesday will be the first time the coaching staff sees them together against NBA opponents.

What comes next

The Nets visit the Wizards on Monday, October 12, at 7 p.m. ET without Brown (Nets-Wizards Game Center). They close the preseason at the Miami Heat on Wednesday, October 14, at 7:30 p.m. ET, the game Brown is expected to play (Nets-Heat Game Center).