When Sean Marks was announced as Brooklyn’s new general manager Thursday morning, the Nets’ coach and players didn’t know a ton about their new boss. But Wikipedia and word of mouth told them enough: He got the stamp of approval from the Spurs, and he’s known for winning as a player, coach and executive.
And they say that kind of pedigree from the NBA’s gold standard bodes well for his future — and theirs.
“I’m familiar with him. I don’t know him personally, but obviously coming from the Spurs organization, he’s seen winning,” interim coach Tony Brown said. “He’s been a part of it as a player, and he’s been a part of it as an executive. I’m sure that’ll bode well for him in the new job.”
The morning after Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov claimed he’d need another week to hire a GM, Brooklyn and Marks had negotiated through the night. They overcame his qualms about the job (14-40 record, without a first-round pick until 2019) and hammered out a deal for a reported four years.
The Nets will get a 40-year-old New Zealander who won a 2005 NBA title as a player, another in 2014 as an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich, then rose to assistant GM under R.C. Buford, who called him a rising star. It was enough to impress Prokhorov — and forward Thaddeus Young.
“I think it’s a great hire for us,” Young said. “Anybody that’s coming from the Spurs organization is definitely a great hire from what they’ve done in the past 20, 25 years. They’ve had a great organization, they’ve won championship after championship, always have produced a great team, and they have great people within the organization, great basketball minds. … They’ve done a pretty good job.
“All of the guys that they’re pushing out are making great progress in the league. Coach [Mike Budenholzer] in Atlanta’s done a very good job with those guys, for what [coach Brett Brown] has done with his young guys, developing some of the young guys over with the 76ers. … They’re getting better each and every game and each and every year. [The Spurs] have done a really good job just pushing out assistant coaches or general managers, front-office guys, each and every year.’’
And Brooklyn is banking on Marks being the latest.
“I tried to inform myself a bit. I did the Wikipedia — I’m sure what all the high school kids do now when they look up assignments,” Brook Lopez said. “I looked up his career. I looked at his background and everything like that obviously — his time with the Spurs and everything. So it’s interesting. It is [encouraging]. They do things right there obviously.”
A sentiment echoed by Joe Johnson.
“Yeah, definitely,” Johnson said. “They’ve all been pretty successful, the guys who’ve come up from under Pop. It’s a testament to him and the things they try to implement as far as their system and great ball movement, guys playing together, playing for one another. It’s very successful, so we’ll see what happens here.”
Could Ettore Messina happen here as coach? The Spurs assistant’s name will logically be linked to the Nets since he’s worked with Marks and for Prokhorov. Messina won four Euroleague titles, including one in 2006 for CSKA Moscow when Prokhorov was the owner and the Italian was Euroleague Coach of the Year.
Can a foreign coach succeed in the NBA?
“It’s possible,” Johnson said.
“I’m not sure. It just depends on how the team responds to him,” Young said. “You never know until you try.”
Whether the Nets will try is going to be one of the most intriguing questions for Marks.