There are mixed reviews about Nets lottery pick Egor Demin after he shot the ball better than expected during Summer League, but didn’t get to show off his play-making skills in a mostly off-the-ball role, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Following his first taste of competition against NBA-level players, the 19-year-old rookie’s takeaway is that he needs to get stronger.
“For me there was a lot of physicality these past couple of weeks, probably even more in the practices with my own teammates where the level of competitiveness is super high — probably even higher than in the games, because everybody wants to make each other better on the practices,” Demin said.
There were questions about Demin’s outside shot following his lone season at BYU, but he connected at 43.5% in Las Vegas on 7.7 attempts per game. However, he was barely used in the pick-and-roll and collected just four assists in Summer League along with nine turnovers. Lewis cites concerns about his lack of athleticism to separate from defenders and weaknesses with his dribble that allow smaller opponents to bother him.
Summer League coach Steve Hetzel also mentioned Demin’s issues with “physicality,” but expressed confidence that he’ll eventually overcome them.
“As a 19-year-old, there’s still a lot of room for his body to just fill out and grow,” Hetzel said. “And you’re going to see a massive change from Year 1 to Year 2 in his strength and how he plays. He has such a good frame, he’s 6-foot-9. So there’s no worry. It’s just everybody has a level of patience for allowing him to grow.”
There’s more from Brooklyn:
- The Nets’ other first-round picks had flashes of success in Las Vegas, Lewis adds in a separate story. Nolan Traore displayed a strong first step and an ability to get by defenders, but he didn’t finish well at the rim. Ben Saraf showed a good understanding of the game and has the size to fit in at the wing, but he didn’t ease any of the concerns about his jumper. Danny Wolf got off to a rough start, but eventually showed off his passing skills and his ability to stretch defenses. Drake Powell, the team’s other first-round pick, didn’t participate in Summer League due to a knee injury.
- Kyrie Irving shared his thoughts on the failed experiment in Brooklyn during a recent appearance on the Mind the Game podcast (Twitter link), Lewis relays in another piece. Irving said he regrets not doing more research on the Nets before signing with them in 2019. “I wish I would’ve handled the business better and got a chance to know them first, ask them questions, ‘Hey, what’s the future like?’ Instead of just committing blindly,” he said. “I didn’t have much power going in there. I couldn’t say who we could get and who we could not get. I couldn’t hire the coach. You guys knew my opinion on the head coach at the time.”
- After being acquired in a trade with Denver, Michael Porter Jr. compiled a video blog of his first experiences with the Nets. It includes his impressions of the practice facility and a workout with team trainers.