The Brooklyn Nets are still in the midst of their rebuild as they are looking for the right combination of players that can take the franchise into a playoff contender. Brooklyn currently has a mix of veterans and young players on the roster heading into next season, but it's fair to wonder who will be the best player on the Nets at some point in the near future.
In an article from Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes, he predicted that guard Egor Demin would be the best player on Brooklyn's roster by the time 2029 comes around. Hughes' main considerations for this distinction were Demin and guard Mikel Brown Jr., whom the organization selected with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft earlier this summer.
"Brown is too much of a mystery to make
him a responsible pick, while Demin shot 38.5 percent from deep last season and showed all the connective passing Brooklyn hoped for," Hughes wrote on the difference between Demin and Brown. "A Summer League performance that saw Demin flash rapidly developing on-ball skills and scoring chops inside the arc puts him over the top."
As Hughes pointed out, Demin looked like the best bet to be the young player on the roster that could be the best among that group next season after how he played during Brooklyn's summer circuit this offseason. Demin, 20, averaged 21.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 47.3% from the field and 28.9% from behind the three-point line in five games played across the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer League.
On the other hand, Brown, 20, also had a solid outing this summer as he averaged 15.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 38.8% from the floor and 34.6% from deep in four games spanning the Classic and Las Vegas. At this point, it seems that the best player on the Nets in the near future will be either Demin and Brown, but there appears to be some debate about which one will take that spot.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Who will be the Nets' best player in the near future?
