Nets rookie Egor Demin has long been mentored by another 6-foot-9 Russian familiar to Brooklyn fans: Andrei Kirilenko.
They spoke with The Post about their relationship, stretching from Demin coming up through the youth ranks in Russia all the way to where and how to settle in as an NBA professional in Brooklyn.
Kirilenko ended his NBA career in Barclays Center, where Demin will start his, but the man dubbed AK-47 didn’t advise his protégé to emulate him. If Demin can become more aggressive — attacking like Thunder greats Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Russell Westbrook before him — then the lottery pick can be “awesome.”
“I don’t worry about his jumper at all. He’s a normal shooter,” Kirilinko told The Post via phone from Russia. “All he needs to do, he needs to be more motivated to play with the ball, and be more a decision-maker rather than give the ball away and play it for the team.
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