Nets general manager Sean Marks still expects his team to make the playoffs.
Speaking to reporters in the immediate aftermath of two seismic trades that shipped both superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving out of Brooklyn, Marks expressed optimism about the future and sadness regarding the past.
He conceded the superstar era in Brooklyn was a failure, or that “it didn’t work,” and said he’s excited to get to work evaluating talent, now overseeing seven first-round draft picks over the next handful of seasons to retool a roster with young, budding talent.
The Nets traded Irving to the Dallas Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 first-round pick and a pair of second-rounders on last Friday. In the wee hours of Thursday morning, about 14 hours ahead of the 3 p.m. Eastern Time NBA trade deadline, they struck a deal that sent Durant to the Phoenix Suns for Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, first-round picks in 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029, as well as swap rights to an additional first round pick.
Marks acknowledged the difficulty in trading for the very superstar player he spent years attracting by building Brooklyn up as a premier destination for free agents. It’s the end of an era in Brooklyn, but the beginning of the next.
”Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. It’s always difficult when you’re trading a player of that stature and that ilk; very difficult. My job as a GM and our job as a front office is to try and bring in that caliber of talent and so forth. So those decisions are not easy,” he said. “But at the same time, to be able to move Kevin to a place where he will have success and they will enter into their championship window; and for us to bring back these two players in that particular trade and the draft assets, that gives us a clear pathway now to continue to rebuild and maybe not set the reset button so to speak because we have a group in there that’s very competitive and wants to get out there and wants to compete at the highest level, but this has given us a clear pathway on how to continue this.”
WHAT ABOUT THE FANS?
A number of Nets fans voiced frustration both on social media and in texts to the Daily News. That frustration was rooted in the steep price of season tickets, which were promoted using images of both Durant and Irving, along with promises of competing for a championship, which are long gone now that the stars have been traded.
Marks expressed disappointment for those fans who re-upped on season tickets, but shared optimism for the short and long term future.
”That’s honestly tough, but my goal here, and our goal is from ownership all the way down, is to put something out on the floor that everybody can be proud of,” he said. “You can see consistent effort, you can see availability and you can see a competitive spirit, everybody playing a great brand of basketball.
“So I think with this group of young men, you will certainly see that. And as they grow and as they get some sort of continuity with each other, and also playing under [head coach Jacque Vaughn’s] style, I think it’s a perfect fit, and I think we’ve all seen what JV has been able to do. I couldn’t be prouder of him.”
THANK YOU KD
While Marks did not mention Irving in the statement that announced the deal with Dallas, he included a thank you to Durant in the statement that announced the deal to Phoenix.
Marks expounded on Durant’s impact since joining Brooklyn in the summer of 2019. Durant climbed to 14th place on the NBA’s all-time leading scorer’s list before his season was derailed by an MCL sprain in his right knee in early January.
“[Let’s] realize what Kevin did for this franchise and thank him. Without a doubt, he’ll be missed,” he said. “We’ll feel his presence in here because what he brought to the — whether it was the locker room or the practice facility — that work ethic, and that competitive spirit. I’ve honestly never seen anything like it. I think that’s contagious. It’ll linger here with many of our guys for sure for a long time.”
Marks suggested he did not attempt to convince Durant to stay. It was Durant’s second trade request from Brooklyn after the ultimatum he delivered over the summer.
”I think there’s a limit, right? I mean, you can certainly try and convince guys and you put your best foot forward and say here’s what the roster looks like, here’s what we’re trying to do,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I think this works out for all parties included.”
A FRESH START
Marks is one of the better talent evaluators holding the general manager position in the NBA. He drafted Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, Nic Claxton and Cam Thomas.
Those were all picks used later in the draft, because as a result of the Paul Pierce-Kevin Garnett trade, the Nets did not own their own first round picks.
They still don’t, having traded them to Houston in the James Harden deal, but they have one of the biggest stockpiles of draft assets after acquiring four first-round picks from the Suns in the Durant deal.
“We’ll go about building it a little bit different way because the last time I took over I didn’t have anything,” he said. “So it definitely looks different what we’re starting with right now. But again, I don’t want to say this is not a total retool. We have guys in that room that I’m extremely proud of and they’re going to compete. I look forward to seeing them on the floor. So you know the additions that we have made to the team over this last week. I cannot tell you how ecstatic I am.”
