Mikel Brown Jr. (right) dribbles against Knicks forward Toby Okani during a Las Vegas summer league game on July 10, 2026. AP Photo/Ian Maule

LAS VEGAS — The Nets face the Rockets on Thursday afternoon in their last scheduled summer league tilt with a chance to either advance to the four-team playoff or end up in a consolation game.

Top draft picks are often shut down after a few summer league games, and it was unclear whether the Nets would put Egor Dëmin or Mikel Brown Jr. — their lottery selections the past two years — on the shelf after impressive starts.

“That’s above my pay grade,” Nets summer League coach Dutch Gaitley said.

It’s premature to draw hard conclusions from summer league performances. And it’s downright absurd to form them about rookies before they’ve even played a meaningful game. But the Nets drew all kinds of criticism for drafting Brown over Darius Acuff Jr., from WFAN’s Tommy Lugauer calling it “incompetence at its highest order” to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith suggesting Brooklyn relocate.