Mikel Brown Jr. should be a capable scorer in his rookie season. (Ian Maule – AP)
This week, LeBron James says he’s not ready to say who he’ll play for next season; Giannis Antetokounmpo indicated he’s driven to win it all in Miami; and the NBA is looking at the four-year, $64M deal Gary Trent Jr. signed with Milwaukee for possible salary cap circumvention issues. Other Fantasy basketball news items we’re tracking include…
Mikel Brown Jr. Could Surprise
Last offseason, we talked about how things had been all downhill for the Brooklyn Nets since their last playoff appearance (2022-23). Unfortunately, that trend continued last season as Brooklyn managed just 20 wins for its worst effort since 2016-17.
And while they still aren’t exactly a title contender (understatement alert!), their situation has to get better next season, doesn’t it?
Unfortunately, the Nets didn’t get much luck in the NBA lottery despite being one of the three teams with the highest odds to land the No. 1 pick. The lottery balls pushed Brooklyn back to No. 6, where it landed Mikel Brown Jr. out of Louisville.
The guard got plenty of touches in his one-and-done season with the Cardinals and then showed some nice two-way skills in Summer League. Brown looks like he can become a special player defensively thanks to his iso play and ability to create turnovers. On the flipside, sometimes he’s prone to turnovers because of his own pacing issues (see video below).
Brooklyn has built a nice collection of young players, with Brown probably having more upside than anyone. And he should combine with No. 28 overall pick Joshua Jefferson (who the Nets acquired in a trade) to form a solid 1-2 rookie punch. Hey, they look great together.
Yes, Brown dealt with a back injury that caused him to miss the NCAA tourney, but he’s fine now, so this shouldn’t be a concern going forward. His ability to play both PG and SG at a dynamic level should translate well into the NBA right away, so we expect him to be an effective point producer as a rookie. Brown has good size for a guard (6’5”) and is a decent outside shooter (34.4 per cent from downtown at Louisville).
Consider him a sleeper for Fantasy purposes given that the consensus top five picks will get all the attention at your Fantasy draft.
Big Changes in Boston
When we last checked in on the Boston Celtics during the 2025 playoffs, they were having problems producing offense. Well, Boston managed to win two of the next three games but ultimately were knocked out by the Knicks in six games in their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup.
Last season, the Celtics slightly increased their offensive rating, but lost ground relative to the rest of the league and wound up with five fewer wins. Unfortunately, Boston got knocked out in round one by Philadelphia, blowing a 3-1 series lead. And no, we’re not sure how massive the FanDuel odds were of that happening. Yikes.
To make matters worse, Boston failed to land Giannis and were then pretty much forced to trade away Jaylen Brown to those same Sixers to get some roster flexibility and ease a payroll crunch that was coming soon. In landing Brown, Philadelphia won the offseason, according to some.
In return, the Celtics landed Paul George, who is old and beaten down, but was actually a bit better last season, when he was able to suit up, that is. Of course, he missed half of 2024-25 as well, and at age 36, he’s not exactly a spring chicken, so counting on good health going forward is a fool’s errand.
But Boston did get a boatload of draft capital: a 2028 first round pick; a 2028 second round pick (best of Golden State, Oklahoma State or Milwaukee); a 2030 second rounder (best of Washington, Portland or Phoenix); and a 2031 first round pick.
It’s important to consider that Brown was going to be eligible for an extension soon, and Boston would not have been able to afford it – not with Jayson Tatum still in town.
When he’s actually available to play, George will absorb most of Brown’s minutes, but you know that George will miss plenty of time. If you’re seeking a deep sleeper who may benefit from this situation, watch out for Hugo Gonzalez. We’re expecting a big leap from the sophomore guard.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
Canadian by birth, Neil Young also has U.S. citizenship. In 1970, he released his third album, After the Gold Rush, featuring the very short but lovely tune “Till the Morning Comes,” on which Young sings and plays piano.