interviewed Yankees\u2019 GM Brian Cashman<\/a>, one of Marks\u2019 biggest supporters (and a GM with similar longevity and legions of fans who think he too has stayed too long.) He advised fans to think about what Marks has done once already, believing he can do it again.<\/p>\nAdvertisement<\/p>\n
\u201cProcess is something that is important, but doesn\u2019t guarantee ultimate outcomes,\u201d Cashman told The Post. \u201cSean has proven he can build a winner. He\u2019s done that. Ultimately they didn\u2019t get to the promised land with the championship, but he did everything lined up to put himself and put themselves in a position to do so. And I know he\u2019s capable of doing that again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what he\u2019s going through right now in the fact that Joe Tsai \u2014 one of the brightest minds of our generation \u2014 sees the talent in Sean to stay invested in [him] to lead that operation. I think it\u2019ll pay off for him in the end, and pay off for the Brooklyn Nets, because Sean is someone that you\u2019d rather have on your team than put in the open market for somebody else to benefit from.\u201d<\/p>\n
In our own discussions, we heard that last line more than once from professionals much of what Lewis heard from Cashman and others. He\u2019s very smart and has a record better than most when it\u2019s all added up, but there are others who take more tempered approach. Smart yes but at the same time subject to big mistakes brought on by hubris is one criticism.<\/p>\n
The Nets, said one, have had a general tendency to hang on to players too long, often have too high an asking price. Then, those players \u201cfuck up the locker room\u201d before being traded on the cheap or cut. That list is long, but can be repeated by any Nets fans who\u2019s worn black-and-white and felt black-and-blue: Ben Simmons, Spencer Dinwiddie, James Harden, Cam Thomas and of course, Kyrie Irving. (No we are not re-litigating Kyrie\u2019s exit.)<\/p>\n
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That he said has let to volatility and plain old-fashioned chaos, something players like to avoid.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, said the same source, the Nets \u2014 Marks and Tsai \u2014 know what to do when the big decision arrives, arguing they can \u201ckill\u201d at the right moment, noting what they got for Kevin Durant and Mikal Bridges, trades that ultimately led to a haul of more than 10 draft picks and some ancillary assets.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s all part of the way Marks looks at things, say those who know him: don\u2019t dwell on the failures or successes. Move on. He is not one to replay his failings over and over in his head. These are sunk costs. And he doesn\u2019t care that someone, whether Brian Windhorst or Bill Simmons or Jake Fischer, doesn\u2019t like what he did. He has a thick skin and an ability to shut out what he dismissively calls \u201cnoise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing I really appreciate about him is he never looks back\u201d Irina Pavlova, the Mikhail Prokhorov executive ran the Nets and led the search committee that recommended him, told Lewis. \u201cOnce something\u2019s gone, \u2018Boom. What\u2019s next?\u2019 He builds from there, which is great, especially for a team like the Nets where there\u2019s something going wrong all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Indeed, Marks understands it is a business, something he learned as a player, toiling for seven NBA clubs and one in Poland. He in fact holds the NBA record for fewest minutes \u2014 less that 10 per game \u2014 in a career lasting 10 years or longer. He\u2019s also worked with two of the most successful businessmen ever, ones who earned their fortunes in the cut-throat post-Communist Russia and still-Communist but wild west economically China. He\u2019s not a babe in the woods.<\/p>\n
He is charismatic, helped by that daunting 7-foot visage, but often hubris has taken over, say critics. He may not be a dictator but he knows what he wants is a common refrain \u2026 and a big part of that is loyalty.<\/p>\n
Historically, his selection of head coaches, arguably the most impactful decision any GM ever makes, has been the weakest lines on his resume\u2019. At this point, it seems like Marks has finally found his coach. It seems everyone from owner to fans to players to competitors believe that Jordi Fernandez is the real deal. Hiring him was another one of those \u201ckiller\u201d moves the league source described. Multiple teams had interviewed Fernandez but decided for whatever reason, passed But before he hired Fernandez, Marks record was not so good, the thinnest entry on his resume\u2019.<\/p>\n
He chose a development expert in Kenny Atkinson, who did his primary job but then was dumped. The official press release back in 2020 said the departure was by mutual agreement but by the time Atkinson returned to the head coaching job in Cleveland last year he made it very clear that he was \u201cfired\u201d and that it still stung. He said he was told that he lost his job because didn\u2019t match what the Nets wanted in the treatment of \u201csuperstars.\u201d Steve Nash, who Marks had long wanted in some capacity before hiring him to replace Atkinson, was a valiant attempt to match a superstar coach with a superstar team, but one of those superstars let it be known he wanted Nash \u2014 and Marks \u2014 fired and the x\u2019s and o\u2019s? Well, that was an issue. Jacque Vaughn, on the other hand, is seen in less positive terms. Much less positive.<\/p>\n
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Indeed one big issue, intimately related to those coaching issues, was his and the organization\u2019s willingness to do the bidding of those superstars. Kyrie didn\u2019t think the team needed a coach. He or KD could do it, he said. KD wanted Ime Udoka even after he had been suspended by his previous employer for harassment. Durant also didn\u2019t like a lot of the supporting roster, didn\u2019t like how the roster was constructed. Harden remained out of shape virtually the entire time he was on the roster, his attention devoted more to strip clubs than weight rooms. Among each other, there always seemed an uneasy truce.<\/p>\n
A lot of that has been seemingly been rectified in public actions. There\u2019s plenty of evidence that they are going for the homegrown, high character player. It\u2019s not just lip service. The historic five first rounders spoke to that, their youth, their character, their willingness to make things work. Marks & co. apparently learned their lesson. No need to call about Ja Morant! No more short term fixes. No more chances.<\/p>\n
As B.J. Johnson, Marks No. 2 said in the SCOUT docu-series produced by the Nets internal media, \u201cA lot of work went into what Brooklyn is going to be in the future. Regardless of who comes in here, we\u2019re not going to change. They\u2019ve got to adjust to us. Overall, that\u2019s what it\u2019s about here.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than a subtle admission that the previous plan \u2014 go for it all, spend wildly, throw together the best of the best and hope for a ring \u2014 wasn\u2019t the right choice. They will have to find a superstar or superstars to bring them back into contention. Maybe it\u2019s whoever they get lucky enough to get in the lottery come May 10. Maybe it\u2019s someone who is attracted by the progress they see in the young kids and Jordi Fernandez and of course, there\u2019s always the bright lights and big city of New York. If you can make it here \u2026 you know the rest.<\/p>\n
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Overall, the current report card is mixed, but generally positive as Carlisle alluded. Lessons get learned.<\/p>\n
The development operation is seen as a solid, better than most. One league source discussing one of the Net recent pick-ups told ND that the player may not have shown much with his previous team \u201cbut he has a chance with Nets development staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
The performance team retains a very good reputation as well despite a lot of turnover, essentially four performance directors in four years and some recent drama. The medical team is staffed by the Hospital for Special Surgery. None better. The scouting staff is reportedly the largest in the NBA and Marks just recently added the Oklahoma City Thunder\u2019s director of scouting. That can\u2019t hurt. Its success of course will take some time to define.<\/p>\n
The \u201csoft science\u201d part of the staff \u2014 analytics, capology, etc. \u2014 is also seen in a positive light, but again there\u2019s been turnover. There are some rising stars like Kory Jones and Kyle Hines. Both are nominally assistant GMs for Long Island but play bigger roles than that, Jones in Brooklyn\u2019s basketball operations, Hines in scouting and development. Makar Gevorkian is the capologist who\u2019s helped Marks through some of the team\u2019s bigger moves.<\/p>\n
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Now, the big challenge for the Nets GM: the next 10 years. Whether he\u2019s around or not, his imprint is going to on this team, his team for a long time. Brooklyn is now younger after the deadline than they were before and they were the youngest in the league by a not insignificant margin. Their draft pick in June will also be a teenager. But for all the preparation, it\u2019s time to execute. As one league source told NetsDaily, the right draft choice alone could mean the difference of years.<\/p>\n
Every indication is that the rebuild portion of the team\u2019s overall strategy is now nearing an end. Now, it\u2019s build rather than rebuild. Expect aggressive moves across the board.<\/p>\n
As we have repeated ad infinitum, they have every possible asset needed to be aggressive, the 33 draft picks (10 first rounders and 20 second rounders that can be traded whenever they want,) perhaps $50 million in cap space and as Sam Quinn noted, an owner willing to spend. It should be noted, as Bloomberg News did, that about half of Tsai\u2019s net worth is now sports-related and the Brooklyn Nets are the centerpiece. He wants to win. He will accept no less.<\/p>\n
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