Whether the Pelicans stay put at No. 7 and No. 23 or end up trading up this draft will be exciting for the fanbase and front office. That excitement could quickly turn into concern if New Orleans selects BYU’s Egor Demin, whom the Pels have already hosted for a pre-draft workout.
Demin is an extremely intriguing prospect. He measures 6'8.25" barefoot with a 6'10.25" wingspan and plays point guard. He is also one of the class's best playmakers, averaging 5.5 assists per game at BYU last season.
On top of this, he also has incredible basketball IQ and is going to be able to make reads other rookies won't be able to. His ability to be a traditional pass-first point guard, paired with his size, has made many teams overlook the mountain of flaws he has. But the Pelicans can't be one of those teams!
Sure, Demin is a great passer and playmaking is something this team needs, but he is also very turnover-prone, averaging 2.9 TOs last season. He often overestimates his abilities as a passer and tries to thread passes through spaces that are too tight, resulting in turnovers. These types of passes were routinely getting picked off at the college level and will get stolen even more regularly at the NBA level.
Scorings-wise, Demin is a solid rim finisher, but because of his thin frame listed at 206 pounds, he gets overpowered by stronger defenders, which is something that will only get worse in the NBA. He lacks a go-to move, most college guards have one move that almost always results in a clean look or basket, but Demin doesn't.
As far as shooting goes, that's my biggest red flag with Demin. To start his collegiate season, he looked like an unreal shooter, as in his first five games, he shot an average of 56.5% from three on over four attempts a game. This had scouts astonished and shocked, but he quickly came back to reality, finishing his year as a 27% three-point shooter. His struggles shooting the three-ball and the fact that he shot sub-70% from the free-throw line are both unencouraging signs in his development as a shooter.
Similar to him being overpowered by stronger players as a finisher, Demin also gets overpowered on the defensive end. His skinny frame allows bigger drivers to power right through him, and he tends to get lost on the defensive end.
Why Demin won't fit with the Pelicans
When looking at Demin's skillset, playmaking and size stand above all else. These are both great, and playmaking is definitely something New Orleans needs. That being said, they also need shooting. Similar to my argument against drafting Collin Murray-Boyles, no matter how great of a player you are, if you aren't a true center, New Orleans cannot draft you if you can't shoot.
That's not saying neither CMB nor Demin can develop into shooters, but when looking at Egor, I see a ton of Josh Giddey. From his draft day to now, Giddey's biggest flaw is still his three-point shooting, which was a determining factor in the OKC Thunder trading him.
With the Pelicans ranking in the bottom five in both three-point attempts and made shots last season, shooting is one of their biggest needs. The Pelicans can’t afford to invest in a lead guard who may never threaten defenses from deep.