Nets' Rookie Egor Demin Responds, Pushes Back on Draft Class Doubters

Ever since the Brooklyn Nets set a new league record by using five first-round picks in June's draft, critics have found plenty of issues with the franchise's decisions. Whether it be the choice to take Egor Demin eighth-overall or not to package multiple firsts to trade back up, Brooklyn's front office didn't exactly follow the expert's guide.

Demin, 19, took a mature stance in his response to the criticism while at Nets media day.

"I think that's something we shouldn't be talking about, really. I believe there's always going to be some sort of hate from the outside, same as there's going to be support," Demin said via Sharif Phillips-Keaton. "For us, it was just important to focus on what we have and to step one step ahead and one day at a time. I don't think anybody from all five of us or the whole organization or the team were ever even really thinking about it."

The BYU product is joined by fellow incoming rookies Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, Danny Wolf and Ben Saraf to round out the Nets' youth movement—each of whom is properly considered raw talent, hence the criticism.

But some of the initial negative reactions have already been disproven. Many were concerned with Demin's shooting ability, but his performance at the Las Vegas summer league alleviated any of those worries. Plus, head coach Jordi Fernandez has spoken directly regarding how excited the staff is about Demin's shooting ability.

The same applies to Saraf, who was viewed as a project but has been impressing in early workouts. The pick which was used on him (26th-overall) could have been packaged with either of the ones used to acquire Nolan Traore or Drake Powell to. trade back up, but Brooklyn invested in quantity over quality. Early indications seem to point to that decision being a good one, specifically pertaining to Saraf.

Powell has been hurt for the majority of the summer, and we haven't heard much when it comes to Traore or Wolf's growth, but the preseason should help clear up whether either pick would've been better used elsewhere.

While the critics do make some solid points, most of it is just typical, overly opinionated discourse. The rookie class should pay no mind to any analyst who thinks that they were overdrafted, unless they use such a declaration as motivation.

It seems Demin has the right attitude toward the "hate," and his incoming counterparts should approach it in the same manner.