Nets Sideline Demin for at Least a Week With Leg Bone Bruise

The Brooklyn Nets have sidelined rookie guard Egor Demin for at least one week after he was diagnosed with a right leg bone bruise, the club announced on Thursday. Demin sustained the injury on Tuesday night at TD Garden, leaving early during Brooklyn's overtime loss to the Boston Celtics. The 20-year-old initially downplayed the setback, but medical staff have now scheduled a reevaluation for next week, ruling him out of the Nets' immediate fixtures. It is an untimely blow for a player still finding his feet in the league. Demin, the eighth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, averaged 10.3 points, 3.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds as a rookie, and Brooklyn had shown its faith in his development by exercising his third-year team option this week. The Nets also picked up third-year options on Drake Powell, French playmaker Nolan Traore and Israeli prospects Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf as they locked in their young core. But the short-term picture is less encouraging: Brooklyn sit at 0-4 and resume action at the Barclays Center on Friday against the Detroit Pistons, a game that also serves as their opener in the Emirates NBA Cup 2026. They will have to navigate it without Demin, and the reevaluation next week will determine how much longer the wait lasts.