Egor Dëmin doesn’t sound like a player worried about fitting in. He sounds like someone already mapping out how the Brooklyn Nets’ new backcourt can work, and he’s especially fired up about pairing with Mikel Brown Jr.
“I love it,” Dëmin said. “I think I met him on the very first day, right?
I was in the draft, and he seems like a very good guy. I think we have a pretty good connection already and it'll be built up throughout the whole summer, right?
The summer league, the California tournament, and throughout the training camp, and all that time before we start playing. I'm very, very excited to play with him.”
That chemistry talk matters because Dëmin looks ready to level up himself. He’s added a lot of muscle this offseason, with an eye on becoming more effective getting downhill. Brown, meanwhile, already showed plenty in his first Summer League game as a scorer and playmaker, and that’s exactly the kind of guard who can make life easier for Dëmin.
Dëmin spelled out the fit clearly.
"That's something they're going to benefit my complete game, right? For me, it's going to be important to be dialed in with my shooting and having a guy like this by my side who's going to be able to get all the defense on him, get to the paint, I think this is where we can benefit from each other," Dëmin said.
"He shoots the lights out, so for me bringing the ball up sometimes, playing something for him, or just looking for opportunities in transition with the rest of the players that we have. I think that's something that we could really build on, and I think that we could be a special combo out there."
Nets coach Jordi Fernández sees the same thing.
"They can obviously play together," Fernández said. "Egor provides gravity and elite shooting, obviously ball handling too.
And then Mikel, probably more of a primary ball handler, very, very good athlete, scorer too. So we're gonna obviously see it in summer league, but I don't see any problems with them playing together."
Brooklyn also likes the size both guards bring to the position, a detail that clearly appeals to Sean Marks and Fernández. The upside is obvious: deep shooting, playmaking for others, and enough versatility to make the pairing work in different ways.
The real question is whether they can keep building the strength and defensive basics needed at the point of attack. If they do, the Nets may have something far more dangerous than a promising Summer League look - they may have a backcourt built to last.
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