The Brooklyn Nets are in the slow part of the offseason now that the 2026 NBA Draft, summer circuit play, and free-agency are in the rearview mirror at this point. Brooklyn is still in the early stages of the rebuild and they have already added forward Julius Randle to the mix, but there is still one area of the team that has to be addressed at some point next year.
"Egor Demin is the likeliest of Brooklyn's 2025 selections to make good on his potential. He proved he could stripe it from deep and make the right connective passes last season, and his Summer League performance showed he'd added new dimensions as an attacker and inside-the-arc finisher," Grant Hughes wrote for Bleacher Report on the Nets. It seems that Demin is looked at favorably by most around the league, but the same can't be said about the rest of the class.
"To put it charitably, the jury is still out on the rest of Brooklyn's first-rounders. Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf are all in line for pivotal second seasons," Hughes continued. "You don't make final determinations on sophomores, especially when their developmental paths are complicated by so much positional overlap."
Over the course of this summer, the Nets have been able to see what Powell, Saraf, and Wolf look like against NBA competition heading into their second year in the ****** ociation. Traore was unable to play in the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer League due to a scope on his right knee, but Powell, Saraf, and Wolf were able to see plenty of reps. However, the trend continues that most around the league are not fond of what they've seen thus far.
"But Brooklyn needs to see something promising from at least one of these guys to validate its controversial approach of making (and keeping) five first-round selections in the 2025 draft," Hughes wrote. The Nets have drafted eight players over the past two seasons and with Tyler Bilodeau on a Two-Way deal, Brooklyn has to find playing time for seven of their youngest players. Next season will be interesting to watch given the massive investment the franchise made in the 2025 class.

#hughes #saraf

Comedian, actor, and entertainer Bill Bellamy will be presented with the Icon Award at the 2026 Whats Funny Comedy Festival, recognizing his decades of excellence and impact on stand-up comedy and entertainment.
The Whats Funny Comedy Festival was co-founded by Knowledge Beckom and Lil Rel Howery ("Get Out," "Rel," "Vacation Friends 2") with the mission to spotlight Black and Brown comedians and make Chicago the "next great home of comedy discovery."
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#whats #funny #bill

Brooklyn Nets guards Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. are in the midst of an important summer as both players will have to work on their flaws in their game. Brooklyn saw Demin and Brown share the floor together over the course of the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer League, but there are those around the NBA wondering how effective the duo can be next season.
"But how good the Nets are in 2026-27 is not as important as how good they can be a few seasons from now, so it's important that they hit on their Lottery picks from the last two drafts," John Schuhmann wrote for NBA.com when discussing the Nets and where they rank in the Eastern Conference at the moment. NBA.com ranks Brooklyn as the 14th-best team in the East, but that number could shift depending on how Demin and Brown play next year.
"Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. combined to take 51 (60%) of their 85 Summer League shots from 3-point range, probably too high a rate given the former's size and the latter's explosiveness," Schuhmann continued. "Brown will need some time to find his way, but the time is now for Demin to take a big step forward and show that there's a brighter future for this franchise."
Heading into next season, Demin and Brown are likely to be the starting backcourt for the Nets with the rest of the lineup being filled by forward Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle along with center Day'Ron Sharpe. Demin entrenched himself as a starter last season for Fernandez, but Brown still has to compete with Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf in training camp for the starting point guard spot.
As Schuhmann alluded to, the Nets know what they will be getting from Porter, Randle, and Sharpe so it will be on Demin and Brown to step up if Brooklyn is going surpass expectations. The Nets are already projected to be one of the worst teams in the league next season, but if Demin and Brown are better than expected, Brooklyn could surprise some people around the NBA.

#schuhmann #summer

LAS VEGAS -- The Brooklyn Nets (1-1) came into Saturday's game against the Atlanta Hawks (2-0) with the hope of winning their second game in as many days, despite being without Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. Brooklyn still had the rest of the roster available to go against Kingston Flemings and the Hawks, but they let go of the rope in the fourth quarter.
The Nets lost to Atlanta 83-76 thanks to the Hawks winning the fourth quarter 26-16 thanks to the contributions of players like Kobe Johnson and Zuby Ejiofor. Brooklyn had some standouts in this matchup as center Chaney Johnson went off for 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals while forward Danny Wolf had 20 points and five rebounds.
For the Hawks, Johnson finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, and four ******* ists coming off the bench while Ejiofor had 13 points and six rebounds. The Nets shot just 8% from behind the three-point line so it was not their strongest long-range shooting game and they also turned the ball over 21 times, allowing Atlanta to keep getting out in transition to score easy baskets.
Here are the Nets player grades following Saturday's loss to the Hawks:
With Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. not playing in this game, there were plenty of ball-handling reps for Saraf to take advantage of and he did a good job of facilitating the offense. Saraf was not particularly efficient on the offensive end as he had his fair share of struggles finishing at the rim, but he was able to get to the free-throw line multiple times and played solid defense as well.

Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Demin came into this offseason hoping to demonstrate what he has been working on since his rookie season was cut short due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Brooklyn is looking for players like Demin to show that they have improved from last season and he put that on display with the first game the Nets played as part of their summer circuit.
"It feels great. I mean, it's always awesome to be back after a while not playing the game I love. So, it feels awesome," Demin said after Saturday's 79-76 loss to the Sacramento Kings in the California Classic. Demin finished the game with 23 points and seven rebounds which made him by far the leading scorer for Brooklyn as well as being the third-leading rebounder.
"I don't want to say pressure of being a leader, but kind of embracing the role of a guy who's spent a year in the NBA already," Demin said when asked what his motivation was for his performance against Sacramento. "I want to take that role of myself, coming here and lead the team, mentally on the bench and on the court as well, right? As much as I just tried to do what I've been working on this whole summer."
Demin, 20, is coming off a rookie season in which he averaged 10.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.3 ******* ists per game while shooting 39.9% from the field and 38.5% from behind the three-point line. Demin, the eighth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, is one of four players from his draft class that are playing, or expected to play, in the summer circuit along with Drake Powell, Ben Saraf, and Danny Wolf.
Demin struggled shooting the ball from long-range as he finished the game shooting 2-of-8 from three-point land, but his ability to get to the rim was impressive to watch, especially considering how much he struggled in that area this past season. It's unknown how much Demin will play in Sacramento and/or in Las Vegas as part of the summer circuit, but so far, he has shown that he has gotten better since last season and he recognizes it.

NEW YORK -- Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Saraf is heading into an important second season that could determine whether he will be sticking with the Nets for the entirety of this rebuild. Brooklyn has gone guard-heavy over the past two seasons, including taking guard Mikel Brown Jr. with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, but Saraf is confident in his offseason preparation.
"It's been great, feeling way better on and off the court, feeling more comfortable here with everybody. On the court, I feel stronger with great work in the gym for me and all the other young guys," Saraf said to the media after summer league practice on Wednesday. Saraf will be playing with the Nets in both the California Classic and the Las Vegas Summer League and he may have to show something special to earn playing time during next season.
"Of course, my shot, I feel like I'm way better, like better percentage, and feel more comfortable with my shot now," Saraf said when asked what he has been working on this summer following an up-and-down rookie season. "A lot of ball handling, a lot of work with headset on all the other stuff we need to work on, and feeling good."
Saraf, 20, ended last season with averages of 7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 3.3 ******* ists per game while shooting 39.6% from the field and 21.1% from behind the three-point line. Saraf had the chance to be the starting point guard for the first five games of last season, but he largely struggled in that role and put forth just 3.2 points and 3.2 ******* ists per game while shooting 21.7% from the floor.
However, Saraf played much better following an extended stint with the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn's G League afiliate, as he averaged 8.4 points, 3.4 ******* ists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 42.9% from the field and 30.0% from deep in a five-game stint in December. Saraf is also in a position to be competing with Brown, Egor Demin, and Nolan Traore (when he's able to play) for playing time at point guard, but he sounds like he's ready for the challenge.