Egor Dëmin is chasing a bigger role in Brooklyn, and the path he’s drawing for himself is pretty clear: defend hard enough to earn trust, then use his strength to get back to the kind of offensive impact he had at BYU.
At Media Day, the 20-year-old made it plain that he wants the toughest defensive assignments. What started as a possibility became a promise in his own mind.
“I’ve been working there a lot this summer, so I’m willing to take a role and take those opportunities to go there and play defense first,” Dëmin said.
That same summer work was aimed at changing how he gets into the paint on offense. Dëmin’s rookie year with the Nets asked him to play more off the ball, and he adjusted well enough to hit 38.5% from 3-point range on high volume.
But the shift also showed him where the next leap has to happen. NBA size, speed and contact made it harder for him to turn a drive into something useful once defenders crowded him or pushed him off his line.
He spent the offseason trying to fix that by getting stronger.
Dëmin said he was “living in the lifting room,” and the goal was simple: add enough physical strength to let his existing skill set show up more often. That started to pop in July.
In five Summer League games, including two at the California Classic, he attacked closeouts, used his size against smaller defenders and finished through contact with better balance. He hit 22 of 29 two-point attempts and earned All-Summer League second-team honors in Las Vegas.
Those were the kinds of possessions Dëmin wants more of in Brooklyn - the ones where his size, touch and passing all show up at once. He’s looking to reclaim some of the playmaking burden he carried at BYU, where the ball was in his hands far more often.
“And last season it was harder for me, but I think this year what I’m emphasizing on is getting to the lane, getting to the paint, which is going to open up so much more opportunities for exactly that,” Dëmin said. “For being able to create not just for myself but for others and having opportunities for passes and playing in transition, playing fast basketball with gravities like Mike [Porter Jr.], like Julius [Randle], like Mikel [Brown Jr.].”
That part matters because the Nets’ roster is deeper now, and Dëmin won’t have the ball to himself. Porter, Randle and Brown all bring their own playmaking and scoring gravity, while young guards Nolan Traoré and Ben Saraf are also in the mix. Dëmin has to find his openings inside that group.
But he sees the upside in that setup, too. With Porter, Randle and Brown pulling defenders, Dëmin can make the simple read in the paint and let his teammates finish. If he’s sharing the floor with another ball handler, he can still work as a spacer and punish defenders who close out too hard on his jumper.
Porter thinks Dëmin is ready for more responsibility.
“So, I think Egor is very comfortable playing the point guard position or the shooting guard position,” Porter said at Media Day. “I mean, I think he definitely has physically matured enough to play the point guard if that was needed because guys aren’t bothering him when he’s pressured.”
Porter has noticed the difference in how Dëmin gets downhill and how he finishes around the rim. If defenders can’t knock him off his path, his passing has a chance to matter a lot more. The idea is for Dëmin to reach his spots without getting rushed, then make the right read instead of getting forced out of the play.
On defense, the work has gone beyond the weight room. Dëmin wants the chance to guard top scorers and handle the kind of assignments that demand discipline and effort. Whether he gets those matchups will depend on how Brooklyn’s rotation takes shape in preseason.
Head coach Jordi Fernández will decide where Dëmin fits defensively and how often he handles the offense as the Nets sort through their depth. For now, Dëmin is volunteering for more on both ends.
“And now that he’s getting in the paint and finishing around the rim, I think he’ll make a humongous jump.”
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