The Brooklyn Nets have hired Sean Marks as general manager of the organization. The Nets and Marks have agreed to a four year deal that will keep him in Brooklyn through 2020.
Marks comes from the front office of the San Antonio Spurs, where he served as director of player personnel, D-League general manager, assistant coach, and assistant general manager. Marks also bounced around the league for 12 years as an NBA player before joining the Spurs as an executive.
There were reports yesterday that Marks was strongly considering rejecting Brooklyn’s offer, but Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov reportedly upped his offer in order to persuade Marks to accept the job. Sean Marks was clearly the Nets preferred choice, so they wanted to make sure a deal would get done.
While the Nets have now filled their general manger vacancy, the head coaching position remains to be filled. The hiring of Marks suggests that Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina will likely be a top candidate for the job once the Nets begin the interview process. Messina was also the head coach of CSKA Moscow from 2005 to 2009, which was when Mikhail Prokhorov owned the team. Even though Messina has very strong ties to the Nets owner and general manager, the Nets still have interest in other coaching candidates, most notably Tom Thibodeau. All signs point towards these two coaches as the clear favorites.
Sean Marks will certainly have a tough task ahead of him as the man in charge of the Brooklyn Nets roster. He will have to find creative ways to acquire young talent and recruit free agents without further jeopardizing the future assets of the team.
In an open letter released yesterday by Mikhail Prokhorov, the Nets owner listed eight lessons that he has learned during his first six years as owner of the Brooklyn Nets, which included the ideas that “some things money can’t buy, strategy beats opportunity, [and] culture trumps talent.” These philosophies contradict Prokhorov’s previous mindset of bringing in big stars on lucrative contracts, which ultimately led to the firing of former general manager Billy King last month.
With King gone, Sean Marks will be the man responsible for bringing a winning culture to the borough of Brooklyn.
Main Photo via Getty Images Sport
