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Brooklyn Nets hire top choice, Sean Marks, as team’s new general manager

February 18, 2016 Jaime DeJesus

BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/ Photo by Jaime DeJesus

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Hello, Sean Marks.

After the Brooklyn Nets decided to undergo a front office overhaul by firing head coach Lionel Hollins and reassigning then-General Manager Billy King on Sunday, January 10, the franchise took a step in the right direction and found his successor. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov announced on Thursday, February 18, that the team has hired Sean Marks, the assistant general manager of the consistently successful San Antonio Spurs, to replace King.

“After an exhaustive vetting process, we are delighted to have Sean as our general manager,” Prokhorov said. “His experience on the court, in coaching and management gives him a 360 degree view of the job at hand. His background helping to build one of the greatest teams in the NBA gives him an unparalleled frame of reference. And he impressed us all with his vision, his values, his personality and his enthusiasm for the club.”

Marks spent five years with the Spurs organization, the latter two seasons as the team’s assistant GM.

The Nets’ newest general manager expressed his excitement in joining Brooklyn and seems ready for the challenge of turning the franchise around. “I am very excited to be named the general manager of the Brooklyn Nets, and to become a member of the vibrant and dynamic organization that represents Brooklyn,” Marks said. “I would like to thank Nets’ ownership for giving me this opportunity, and I look forward to the challenge of creating a unified culture and building a winning team.”

The hire was made just a day after the Nets officially opened its practice facility in Sunset Park’s Industry City. It had been reported earlier in the week by Yahoo! Sports that the Nets had offered Marks the job; however he was undecided whether he wanted to leave San Antonio to help rebuild a team in need of an identity.

When asked about the possible hire at Industry City, Prokhorov gave no indication of the impending announcement and even joked on the matter. “I never heard that name before,” he said when asked about Marks.

Marks will have his work cut out for him. Although Brooklyn will have cap space flexibility with the next couple of seasons, several first round draft picks, pivotal to rebuilding a team, were traded under King’s regime in favor of making a big splash to win with veterans. The plan didn’t work. Although they made the playoffs the first three seasons in Brooklyn, the Nets only had one playoff series win to show for it, despite having the highest payroll in the league. And this season, the team is at the bottom of the league standings.

However, the organization and league think highly of the rookie GM, as Yahoo! Sports also reported that Marks was signed to a four-year contract. Along with being a former player, Marks spent one season as an assistant coach on the Spurs’ 2014 NBA Championship team, one season as the team’s director of basketball operations and general manager of the Spurs’ NBA Development League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, and one season as a basketball operations assistant.

Marks’ and company’s first task is to hire a head coach.

“The vote to select him from an incredible list of talent was unanimous,” Prokhorov added. “We welcome Sean into our Nets family and look forward to his strong leadership and independent thinking as we build our own success story.”