How Michael Porter Jr. Can Enhance Egor Demin's Upside

After worries of not enough scorers on the roster following the 2025 NBA Draft, where the Nets went pass-heavy, the newly acquired Michael Porter Jr. can be the connecting piece to help Egor Demin thrive.

With Demin's large 6-foot-9 frame he excels in pick-and-roll situations and is not prone to turnovers against bigger defenders. Instead of finding a big rolling to the basket, he could build a strong connection with Porter Jr. in the pick-and-pop.

Porter Jr. is coming off an injured left shoulder in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, which may have led to his poor statistical performance. He has a chance to have a breakout season coming off three straight years of decreased usage.

At BYU, Demin averaged 5.5 assists per game and held a 34.6% assist rate. Pairing him with Porter Jr., who holds the 12th-best career three-point percentage among active NBA players, should only raise Demin's floor as a passer.

“I believe in basketball as a creative place. It’s like art for me," Demin said. "I wanna play beautiful, I wanna play pretty, I wanna play efficient."

Brooklyn's rookie assist records could be in play for Demin if he and Porter Jr. can stay healthy. The most assists in a season by a Nets rookie is held by Mark Jackson with 868 assists in the 1987-88 season.

Porter Jr. has a proven track record in improving playmakers during his time with the Denver Nuggets. Nikola Jokic jumped from seven assists per game in 2019-20 to 9.8 assists per game in 2022-23. 2019-20 was Porter's rookie season, and since then, Jokic has never averaged below 7.9 assists per game.

As the Nets roster is currently constructed, Porter Jr. should be Demin's go-to option. Most known for his three-point shooting, but as a cutter, he could be where he is most dangerous with Demin feeding him the ball.

Demin was widely considered the best passer in the 2025 NBA Draft class and that was on a BYU roster with no other draft picks.