A Nuanced Look At Why Marks Still Has Nets GM Job—And Why He Is Running Out Of Rope
The downside of the Nets’ decision—the correct one at that—to fire Head Coach Jacque Vaughn on such a slow NBA news day as the Monday following the All-Star Game is that it made them the center of attention for many in the media who are, to put it mildly, uninformed on the subject.
Former player Chandler Parsons, a contributor on something called “Run it Back,” exhorted the team to tank the rest of the season—despite Houston owning Brooklyn’s first-round pick from the 2021 James Harden blockbuster. And then there were those who traced the Nets’ problems to the organization’s punting of a December 27 home game versus Milwaukee by load managing their best players on the second half of a back-to-back. As if the Nets would have played it straight, they not only would have won that game, it surely wouldn’t have been possible for them to lose 17 of the last 23 games. Because, you know, A followed B, so B caused A.
The hottest of takes is piling on General Manager Sean Marks, whose record since taking over what was deemed one of the worst situations in NBA history back in 2016 isn’t exactly pristine. The Nets have since won just one playoff series and will be on its fourth different Head Coach in four years with Kevin Ollie replacing Vaughn on an interim basis. This offseason could bring the tally to five for five should the search end with someone from the outside.
However, like I’ve noted in prior columns, evaluating Marks requires more nuance than the click-baiters possess in their toolboxes. The franchise’s turnaround from when it started with a pretty much bare asset cupboard in terms of valuable players and first-round Draft picks all the way to qualifying for the 2019 playoffs was remarkable. Then for Marks and his staff to create an environment (sorry, but the “c” word is played out) and the salary cap room whereby superstars were attracted to Brooklyn, it set the Nets up for a championship window that no one saw coming.
Marks did it with good old-fashioned GM-ing. He made the most of his Draft picks outside the lottery (Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, Nic Claxton, et al) and the majority of his trades were shrewd. I will die on the hill—and it’s since been confirmed by several Bucks players--that if Kyrie Irving hadn’t landed on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foot in Game 3 of the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals against eventual champion Milwaukee, the Nets win that series and probably more.
Of course, it wasn’t just bad luck that sent the Nets freefalling from that high moment back down into their current predicament, only a few levels above their previous low point. And Marks shares in the blame for that, which he readily acknowledged during Tuesday’s press conference.
I’ve pinned three major gaffes, in no particular order:
1) Failing to construct a balanced roster
Almost every season under Marks, the Nets seem to be relatively undersized. In different years, he overloaded one position (guards, wings, non-floor spacing centers, etc.) at the expense of others. After the Nets looked deficient defensively one season, his answer was to sign a bunch of wings with good defensive reputations, but couldn’t shoot a lick. Brooklyn started this campaign with a host of 3-and-D wings, but no proven combo guard who could take over in crunch time. His philosophy of accumulating talent and then letting the HC deal with it was fine when the Nets were in development mode, not so much when the goals were set higher.
2) Ben Simmons
I know others disagree, but the smart move when Harden begged out of Brooklyn in 2022 was to rebuff him, just like when Owner Joseph Tsai and Marks did it with Kevin Durant that summer. If Marks had played it out like chess, the Nets would have gotten another playoff run out of their Big 3 (I have no idea whether they would have beaten Boston, but the series surely would have been a lot more competitive than a four-game sweep). The Sixers would have then had to gut their team to fit in Harden in free agency, including finding another landing spot for Simmons, who sat out all that season due to mental issues. Instead, Marks allowed Philly to dump him, his glaring shooting limitations, and his anvil contract on Brooklyn. Again, even if you assume nothing would have changed with KD and Kyrie bailing, the Nets would have been able to speed up the rebuilding process by a year because they would have been under the luxury tax at the end of 2022-23 as well as this season.
3) The coaches
The unasked question on Tuesday wasn’t about why Marks felt like he deserved another opportunity to choose a Head Coach (make of it what you will, but all indications are that he has Tsai’s total support), but why he has never landed on someone who has had prior head coaching success in this league. Look at his hires:
Kenny Atkinson (zero HC experience)
Steve Nash (zero coaching experience at any level)
Jacque Vaughn (a .269 winning percentage in two-plus seasons at Orlando before his friend Marks helped him get back on an NBA bench by putting him on Atkinson’s staff)
Ollie has a championship on his resume, but it was at UConn. Since college coaches often don’t translate to the pros, he would need to lead this team to an extraordinary revitalization for him to earn the full-time job for next season. That’s quite a long shot.
Instead, I predict that Marks will go back to his well again for next season, with former Hornets HC James Borrego, he of the .447 career winning percentage over 331 NBA games, my betting favorite at this early point.
Why do you think this keeps happening? My guess is that Marks, who often alludes to a “collaborative” effort when referring to how the organization operates, might be too collaborative for a seasoned NBA HC, especially one who has won with his system and his people. Or have you not noticed how every Nets Head Coach has been a strict adherent to analytics, preaching, for instance, that three-point quantity matters more than shot quality. Outside of the short-lived superstar era where their mid-range looks were tolerated, the Nets tended to be among the league leaders in three-point attempts while posting middling-to-bad efficiency.
Marks seems to set it up so that he always works with guys with whom he has a connection. You might argue that such a prerequisite makes sense, but understand that his involvement makes it easier for the better coaching candidates to pass if they weren’t already passed over.
I do agree with those who reckon that he has to get this HC right or else it will be his last one. Marks may have Tsai convinced that he is the right man for the current rebuilding job, but I think Tsai is going to want to see the wreckage cleaned up within the next two seasons.
That it’s a task Marks has previously nailed for this franchise shouldn’t go unreported.