Sitting in the “Green Room” at Barclays Center, that vast area in front of the NBA Draft stage set up every June, Egor Demin knew it was possible that he could wind up with the home team in the NBA Draft. One of his advisors told a Salt Lake radio show after the Draft that the […]
Sitting in the “Green Room” at Barclays Center, that vast area in front of the NBA Draft stage set up every June, Egor Demin knew it was possible that he could wind up with the home team in the NBA Draft. One of his advisors told a Salt Lake radio show after the Draft that the Brooklyn Nets were indeed a top choice for the 6’9″ Russian point guard. But ya never know.
In an interview with the big Russian sports site, Championat, out Wednesday, Demin recalled what it was like that night and that moment … and offered a bit of intelligence on the Nets.
“One of my agents, who was sitting at the table with me during the ceremony, was constantly checking the social media pages of key insiders and communicating with the general managers of the teams in order to understand what the situation was like in general, since trades and such things could happen,” he told Championat’s Artem Berstenev.
“In the end, the Nets’ choice took a little longer — the team told Adam Silver who they had chosen literally a minute before the allotted time ended. Brooklyn also texted my agent that they were choosing me literally 30 seconds before the NBA commissioner announced it on stage. At that moment, he turned to me and said, ‘You’re staying in Brooklyn!'”
Were the Nets considering someone else at No. 8? Was there a trade offer to consider? Or was the Nets heavily populated Draft room — we counted 20 staffers in the room — just doing due diligence? Whatever happened, someone in the room texted Travis Hansen, the advior, with a simple “he’s ours” and Demin stepped onto the stage to meet Adam Silver for the first time.
Demin told Berstenev that he doesn’t recall much from those moments on the stage with the NBA commissioner other than feeling “incredible joy and gratitude.”
It was indeed a night of firsts. Demin was the first Nets lottery pick since 2010 nd the first Russian selected in the first round since 2013. Now, though, Demin said it’s all about work and following Brooklyn’s development path. He said that path has guideposts but no ultimate destination yet.
“So far, there have been no conversations about the regular season at all. The organization is betting on one step ahead, there were certain tasks and roles for each player during the Summer League. Now there are individual and general tasks for the rest of the summer preparation, and then there will be a conversation about how we will prepare for the season and the start of the games.”
Of course at this point, the consensus is that Demin will be thrust into the starting lineup at point guard, with some other off-the-ball duties as well. After all, the Nets only have three points guards on the roster right now and none of them are 20 years old. He said he doesn’t worry about that.
“Competition is not only within the team, but everywhere in this league,” he told Championat. “Based on events, for example, with Luka [Doncic], his trade and many other factors, you can understand that this league is absolutely not about emotions and status. It is a business. You can never relax — and it is unlikely that you will be able to at all. So competition is everywhere. For me, the main thing is to focus on fulfilling my own goals, which the coaching staff and the club’s management set for me.”
He likes the Nets; culture, he added, saying how he appreciates, the work ethic, “which, frankly, the Nets organization has in abundance. The philosophy of the club is that if a person doesn’t work, he doesn’t play on this team.”
As for personal goals, he sees himself as “a player can do everything and can influence the game at any second of the 48 minutes.”
He admitted, developing the player he wants to be can take time.
“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’s selection is big in Russia. Typical of the interest is a video blog run by Dmitry Materansky, a Nets staffer during the Mikhail Prokhorov era. He even translated the SCOUT video that focused on Demin’s selection!
Of course, Russia’s war in Ukraine had drawn near worldwide condemnation of the country’s tactics. For the native Muscovite, though, it’s more about raising the standard of Russian basketball.
“I want the whole world to respect our basketball.
“I think there should be excitement in any case. From this excitement I get motivation to work — which should ultimately lead me to where I want to be. And the pressure is to some extent a formality, I have my own standards, requirements and expectations from myself. And even if it takes time or if I am not visible at first, I will not stop doing what I love and will proudly wear the Russian flag.”
He even noted how the use of the umlaut over the letter “e” on his uniform jersey has meaning for him as a Russian. He’ll be the first NBA player to embrace the umlaut.
“The letter ‘Ё’ appeared in my thoughts from the very beginning,” he told Berstenev.” I think it could become an important and vivid representation of my country and our characteristics. Well, and still, I would like my last name to be written correctly. This is also a small thanks to my grandfather, who fought for the letter ‘Ё’ in his last name for a long time, drawing two dots in his passport above the letter ‘E’.”
Demin also responded to doubt some have had about his being taken too high, with an ESPN poll of NBA executives calling his selection at No. 8 the biggest reach on Draft Night. To him, it’s all noise. He has other concerns.
“There were a lot of opinions and conversations around this, and it will always be like this, as far as I understand,” he said. “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.”
As for team goals, he used a question about the Nets addition of Michael Porter Jr. to speak to that issue. It’s about winning.
“Of course, it’s a good sign for the franchise, I’ve already had a chance to talk to him a little bit and understand how he thinks,” Demin said of MPJ. “He’s here to help us win, and also to work hard not only on his own game, but also on helping other players on the team. He’ll bring this team not only a lot of experience, but also a work ethic.”
Category: General Sports
