Egor Demin showing Nets signs he can handle the job and give them more options

The Nets have played the first two games of the preseason without Mikel Brown Jr., the lottery pick they drafted to be their point guard. After a pair of impressive wins, Egor Dëmin is giving signals he can handle the job and, in turn, giving head coach Jordi Fernández options for their rebuild. With Brown still working his way back from a rolled ankle and unable to make his full debut, Dëmin got the nod at point guard in the preseason opener at Charlotte and again in Thursday night’s 114-108 win over LeBron James and the 76ers at Barclays Center. As the lead guard, Dëmin has led his team to a 2-0 start to the preseason. “He’s not afraid to lead, to be honest with you,” said Julius Randle, the Nets’ only former All-Star.“We know what he does on the court, talent-wise how he is and stuff like that, but he’s not afraid to lead and use his voice, and I try to encourage him to do that even more.

You’re not too young to be a leader.So, he’s very vocal. “You can tell he’s comfortable in his own skin, with who he is as a player, and really understands the game.

So he’s never trying to prove anything out there.He’s just playing the game and making the right plays.

But he’s not afraid to use his voice.You can tell he has a point guard background.

So he knows how to lead a team and get us organized.He has a bright future.” When the Nets used the No.

8 pick on Dëmin a year ago, many mocked the selection and accused them of fumbling their future.He answered doubts about his 3-point shooting as a rookie but was turned all too often at the point of attack as the starting point guard and eventually got moved off the ball to shooting guard.An offseason spent bulking up and working on his downhill game has paid dividends.

After a strong Las Vegas Summer League showing, Dëmin showed downhill juice in both wins against actual NBA players, albeit in preseason play. Dëmin repeatedly touched the paint in Charlotte.Even though he missed a...