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The Brooklyn Nets' selection of Egor Demin with the No. 8 pick in June's draft drew widespread skepticism. After the team endured a flurry of criticism on draft night, an ESPN poll of 20 NBA executives and scouts labeled Demin the biggest reach of the draft.
The Nets point guard recently reacted to the narratives surrounding his selection.
“There were a lot of opinions and conversations around this, and it will always be like this, as far as I understand,” he said during an interview with Russian sports site Championat. “I try to simply isolate myself from any conversations and discussions of the public, I concentrate on my work and development together with people who help me to be the best version of myself.”
Demin represents the Nets' first lottery selection since 2010. He carries heavy expectations as he begins his NBA career with Brooklyn.
Egor Demin opens up on expectations for rookie campaign with Nets
The 6-foot-9 Russian floor general was widely considered the best passer in this year's draft. However, concerns about his ball-handling and ability to create his own shot led him to fall in many mock drafts. He did little to quell those concerns at this year's NBA Summer League, as he struggled to get downhill with the ball in his hands.
However, Demin's Summer League performance did ease concerns about his three-point shooting after his struggles at BYU. The 19-year-old shot 43.5 percent on 7.7 attempts per game over four appearances in Las Vegas.
Given his raw ball-handling, many have questioned whether Demin will play point guard or wing at the next level. However, he's said numerous times following the draft that he's focused on impacting the game as a playmaker, regardless of what position he plays.
“My main goals are adaptation and maximum concentration on development in everything,” he said during his interview with Championat. “I focus on putting in as much effort as possible every time I step on the court and off it. It is also necessary to give my best and be a sponge, absorbing all the information available to me.
“I think that is the truth, to try to find a balance and the right vector, where a player can do everything and can influence the game at any second of the 48 minutes. For some, it is a long process that they work on throughout their career, some are so talented that they find it pretty quickly, and some never manage to achieve it. So this is one of my main goals, which I have worked, am working on and will work on every day.”
Demin will likely open the season as the Nets' starting point guard alongside veterans such as Michael Porter Jr., Cam Thomas, Nic Claxton and Terance Mann. He headlines a rookie class that features fellow point guards Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf, as well as North Carolina wing Drake Powell and Michigan big man Danny Wolf.
