The Nets’ Rookie Development and the Pressure on Young Talent
As the Brooklyn Nets focus on building their future through strategic tanking, head coach Jordi Fernández is working diligently to shape the young talent already in the roster. This includes first-round draft picks Egor Dëmin and Drake Powell, both of whom have faced challenges in recent games.
During a loss against the Dallas Mavericks, both players saw their playing time reduced, with clear signals that further underperformance could lead to even more limited opportunities, especially when facing the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.
Egor Dëmin’s Struggles and the Coach’s Message
Egor Dëmin, the Nets’ first lottery pick in 15 years, has been a consistent presence at point guard. However, his performance in the game against Dallas was one of his worst since becoming a starter. He scored just three points in 18:10, shooting 1-for-7 from the field and 1-for-4 from beyond the arc. He also recorded only one assist, one rebound, and two turnovers.
Dëmin’s struggles were evident as he tried to force plays, leading to unwise decisions. He was blocked while attempting to drive into traffic and later threw the ball away on a behind-the-back pass. As a result, he was pulled from the game and played only 2:14 in the fourth quarter. This marked his first negative game score in the NBA, according to Basketball Reference.
Fernández addressed Dëmin’s performance, emphasizing the need for better readiness and physicality. “He was trying to fix mistakes by trying to make things happen, and this is not how you want to do things,” Fernández said. “I need him to play with better readiness and better physicality. This is not the way that the team needs him to play. So he’s got to be better. Otherwise, the minutes are going to go down, and somebody else will take advantage of that.”
Despite his recent struggles, Dëmin has averaged 9.9 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.4 rebounds as a starter, with impressive shooting splits of 39.4/36.3/90.0 percent. Fernández praised Dëmin’s consistency, noting his ability to listen, ask questions, and play with team defense. “His verticality, his deflections, that, to me, stands out. He took a huge charge the other day and playing team defense and being on point with those things. And offensively, he is a really good playmaker, especially finding the 3-point line for others. His shot looks great. We want him to be aggressive and taking the proper space, where he has to touch the paint and then make decisions.”
Drake Powell’s Limited Playing Time
Drake Powell, who had been averaging 21.1 minutes since joining the rotation on November 7, saw his playing time drastically reduced in the game against Dallas. He was limited to just 2:41, all in the first quarter. This was partly due to fellow rookie Nolan Traore being called up from the G-League, receiving 8:48 minutes that would typically have gone to Powell.
However, part of the decision was based on gameplay. “Correct. Yeah, it was just the readiness to play,” Fernández admitted. “These young guys need to understand how important every minute you play is. And not that you’ve got to play worried about not making mistakes, [but] you cannot make three in a row for readiness and for concentration. If the intentions are there, then I’m completely fine. But if the mistakes are for just easing into the game, that’s not how we do it here.”
Fernández acknowledged that the situation applies to all players. “Happy that I saw Nolan. I know that Drake, when the opportunity comes back to him, he’ll be 200 percent and ready and paying attention to everything. And Nolan played with confidence. He did good things. So meaningful minutes there.”