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Sean Marks: Plan B "in progress right now"

By Net Income
Brooklyn Nets

Sean Marks is disappointed. He wanted to introduce Tyler Johnson and Allen Crabbe to the media and fans, watching as they held up their new uniform jerseys, but it didn't work out.  The Heat and Trail Blazers valued the two 24-year-olds just as much as Marks ... and agreed to pay them $50 million and $75 million over the next four years.

But, he told reporters and NBA TV that while he's disappointed, he is not discouraged, and he'll be back in the mix soon.

"We’ll go back at it again. There’s certainly a Plan B, and that’s in progress right now, which, again, we’re excited about. And we wish those guys all the best."" he said, without detailing the team's plans.

In fact, he treated the pursuit of Johnson and Crabbe as a first step, a learning experience. 

"We're excited those guys actually chose the Nets to sign offer sheets with. That says a lot about Kenny and his staff and the vision,"  he told the reporters. "Yeah its definitely disappointing not to have those 2 guys; but at the same time we're excited.

"A couple top-tier free agents chose to come and sign an offer sheet with us,  I think that speaks a lot."

It wasn't just Atkinson and staff who were involved in the recruiting.  Marks praised Brook Lopez, saying the Nets big man took part in the wooing.

Marks also described what he and Nets are up against and the strategy to correct it

"We expected that," Marks said of the matches. "There’s no secret we were going after two top-tier guys, guys that we valued that are 24 years old that can be part of a program a building program from the foundation all the way up.

"So we would have been excited to have them, but when you’re dealt the hand that we have, and we don’t have a whole lot of young assets, in terms of picks, that’s the way we’ve got to go do it, play within the rules."

Atkinson agreed.  "There are a lot of other good players out there, we’re going to find them," said the coach. "I liked our strategy, I liked what we did, and it didn’t work out. So we obviously planned for this type of situation."

Atkinson also noted the Nets are looking for wing players  ... "The more versatile the better … if they can play either wing position."

In talking about the Nets draft picks, Marks said he was happy with both Caris LeVert and Isaiah Whitehead.  The Nets GM said he can see LeVert playing the "1, 2 and the 3" and praised his passing.  Of Whitehead, he said the Nets were surprised at his court vision.

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