Here is a combined scouting profile on Demin. I would not rule him out of contention for POR.
Egor DeminWHAT TO LIKE:- Dazzling Playmaker - A sublime passer who is bigger than his archetype. He is the most talented all-around passer in the draft, spotting cutters and weakside looks from 3 that others simply do not. He is gifted at using his outside-the-box thinking to pry open passing windows. He passes a shootable ball—they’re typically on time and on target, with the right amount of ball deceleration so that the recipient can flow into their motion. Egor’s eye manipulation is up there with anyone’s.
- Can be a primary or secondary creator, depending on the situation. Moves well without the ball and is good at relocating on the perimeter to get open, which makes him a serious threat even in an off-ball role. Has the positional size to play as a one, two, or three at the next level.
- Ball Handling - A ‘fluid’ player. He’s comfortable dribbling with either hand and keeps his head up constantly, scanning the entire court, not just the tunnel in front of him. Demin is calm and calculated in the pick and roll and recognizes when help is coming. His handle and slipperiness is what makes Egor hard to handle once he has an advantage.
- Physical Profile - At 6’9″, has slim frame but broad shoulders & long arms, fluid hips and strong upper-leg area, Demin shows the mobility to move fluidly while not having to rely on his burst when he’s defending. He is a big guard who plays as a traditional table setter. His height and peripheral vision help him process the game from above and find open teammates across the court.
- High Basketball IQ - Reads defenses at a high level, making quick decisions to exploit mismatches or create opportunities for teammates. Organizes many scoring plays that don’t result in assists in the box score.
- Archetype - Most players like Demin end up having high floor and a serviceable role in the league.
SWING:- Theoretical Scorer (60th 3PM, MidM, RimM, DunkM). For his archetype, he is average when it comes to 3PM, his archetype are below average shooters to begin with. But it is better than players like Kyle Anderson, MCW and he flashes more scoring upside than the likes of a Josh Giddey. He shows flashes of scoring prowess at all three levels of the floor, however struggles to score in any fashion against far more physical play. Offensive potential will be determined by Demin’s ability to produce in a ball-dominant role. Combined with his scalable role, he offers feasibility when it comes to maintaining a team’s offense rating by using him as a floor-spacer and slasher.
- Shooting - Has smooth shot mechanics. It’s a matter of finding consistency. He doesn’t think twice when defenders go under screens and is not bothered by contests, thanks to his size, which allows him to shoot over people. When shot is not falling, defenders often overplay the roller and dare him to take those above-the-break shots. Whether Demin is on a cold spell or hot, it doesn’t take away his self-confidence as a shooter. That’s crucial to sniff consistency as a volume shooter, which is a realistic role. An area to work on for the long term is to not bring the ball down too much after the catch.
- Shot Creation - When creating with the ball in his hands Demin continues to tend to settle for jumpers. He bails defenses out rather than trusting his craft to get to the rim consistently. Demin has a good first step while showing the craft and handles to generate paint touches. Demin filling his frame and improving upper-body strength will turn him into a better self-creating scorer.
- Light Frame (195lbs)- Due to his lack of physicality, Demin can lose the ball even after marginal contact. Currently a perimeter player, prefers to rely on IQ rather than physicality, rarely drives to the basket, and focuses on making plays for his teammates. Lags in strength, which prevents him from fully utilizing his advantages. If he fills out his frame, he could move up to the small forward position and become a point forward.
- Potential Defensive Versatility - Excellent positional size and screen navigation form the base for his NBA role. In a switch-heavy league where teams focus on maximizing offensive rating with four and five-out offenses, it’s crucial to have multiple screen navigators. That’s the value of Demin’s plus size at 6’9", combined with his positional versatility. Natural screen navigator who does well to slightly place his body ahead to slide between the ball handler and the screener, needs more physicality to fight thru screens at the NBA level
CONCERNS:- Awful Shooting Efficiency (40th TS/eFG %). How much cons does he really have that will overshadow his upside? It really comes down to his poor Shooting Efficiency, which is nothing new for his archetype. Synergy grade Demin out in the 24th percentile in points per possession (0.803), which is below average. While operating in the pick and roll, Demin ranks in the 65th percentile as a scorer. When including passes, his percentile skyrockets to the 81st percentile—which grades out as very good. I would be prepared to see Josh Giddey’s recent shooting explosion as a reason to believe in Demin, as both are larger playmakers.
- Inability get FT Line (22th FTR) - Rarely gets to the line, where he shoots in the sixties throughout his young career, which may indicate a lack of confidence or concentration. With a clear line to the rim, he’ll attack a driving lane and punch it, but otherwise he’ll rely on extension and evasion at the rim—or, sometimes, he’ll neglect to pressure at all.
- Athleticism - Lacks an explosive first step and struggles to fight through contact. Not an especially shifty athlete, his posture is fairly upright—and the seams can really show in his handle when teams apply ball pressure. Not an aggressive rebounder, which limits his versatility. Without elite quickness or explosiveness, he may struggle against NBA-level athletes on both ends of the floor.
- Defense - His lack of athleticism and unclear defensive position raise questions about his defensive effectiveness at the NBA level. Demin continues to show that he’s caught out of position often when he’s closing out on spot-up shooters. Despite quick hands, Demin is a weak individual defender who should be given easier assignments. He doesn’t provide much ball pressure and gives up too much space for ball-handlers with greater lateral mobility. His anticipation is good, and his combination of hand-eye coordination and size helps him get into higher passing lanes and create deflections. I just wouldn’t bet on him ever being a plus defender.
- Can disappear in games -Thrives in situations where everything is going well but hasn’t always been the “guy” during crucial stages, disappeared when it came to stronger opponents.
POR FIT: One thing that stood out to me when going through scouting reports was defensive switchability. At his size, you can imagine a lineup of Demin (6'9), Sharpe (6'6), Camara (6'7), Avdija (6'9) & Clingan (7'3), just a huge lineup, that outside of center could be very switchable & early on Camara\Avdija could hide some of his deficiencies while he gets up to speed. His passing, along with Avdija could give POR more offensive versatility in the halfcourt, where they have struggled. The shooting, even best case looks like it will take time, but Cronin\Schmitz have not shied away from taking athletc\versatile\large wings whose shooting needs work.
The caveat though, is he does not really fit the things this team is lacking in, at least not right away & he is a big swing, which Cronin eluded they did not feel "compelled" to do, so some wiggle room there. I agree that his floor should be as a serviceable player, either starter or off the bench.
https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA_Draft/comments/1k4t709/egor_demin_moscow_mulegician_draft_comps/?rdt=58808https://www.sportsbusinessclassroom.com/scouting-byu-guard-egor-demin/https://nbadraft.theringer.com/https://www.babcockhoops.com/post/2025-nba-draft-egor-demin-scouting-reporthttps://edemirnba.substack.com/p/egor-demin-scouting-reportAn executive told HoopsHype on Igor Demin: “His passing is next-level. Worst-case scenario, he’s a more athletic Josh Giddey, that’s literally his floor because his passing is just that good. He’s almost 6-foot-10 and comes from playing pro ball with Real Madrid. Well, the shot hasn’t been there, outside of shooting, the biggest issue is that Igor hasn’t proven he’s a consistent scorer.”
A pro scout told HoopsHype on Demin: “Kid’s got unicorn potential with that 6-foot-9 playmaking package – sees the game like he’s watching in slow motion. The passing vision is elite for his size, and he can really handle in space. But here’s the million-dollar question: how does he score at the next level? The shot comes and goes, and right now he doesn’t have a reliable go-to move.”
https://hoopshype.com/lists/egor-demin-nba-draft-scouting-report/
