The peripatetic Mr. Marks

The definition of “peripatetic” fits Sean Marks: “traveling from place to place, especially working or based in various places for relatively short periods.”

We don’t have his itineraries (wish we did), but we don’t ever recall a Nets GM picking up frequent flier miles the way Marks has.

As we’ve chronicled, he made at least two trips overseas, in March and April, the first a nine-day excursion that took him to Spain, Germany, Turkey, Russia and back to Spain again. The second, he traveled to Moscow mainly for Mikhail Prokhorov’s annual discussion of basketball operations. But he took it at least one game, watching Milos Teodosic with Kenny Atkinson. On the way home, at least Atkinson (and maybe Marks) stopped in Santiago, Spain, to scout a Spanish League game.

He dispatched others on his staff overseas as well.

At the end of April, he sent assistant GM Trajan Langdon on nine-day trip to Europe at the end of April to watch five games and Gregg Polinsky, his director of player personnel, to at least Spain. The Alabama-based Polinsky who is the Nets longest serving executive and scout, usually sticks to the U.S.

Back in April, we published a list of who we thought they were scouting. It was no doubt incomplete.

More recently, Marks, accompanied by at least seven members of the front office staff, showed up at the Pre-Draft Combine in Chicago, watching game after game conducting interview after interview, scheduling workout after workout. That, of course, is a stop all GM’s make (except of course for the exalted Phil Jackson).

This week, he was out west in Los Angeles and Las Vegas at the various “Pro Days” sponsored by some of the bigger agencies, like RocNation, Jay-Z’s company; BDA Sports, Brian Duffy’s; ASM Sports, Andy Miller’s. He wasn’t alone. Langdon and Polinsky sat on either side of him.

Saturday, he’s in L.A. again for other “Pro Days,” including the one by Happy Walters’ Catalyst Sports. It features the two Latvian draft prospects, Rodions Kurucs and Andejs Pasecniks.

“Pro Days” are something new. Agents have all their clients in one place for a workout. If a team really don't know a player that well, they have a final opportunity to get another look. Justin Patton, Jawun Evans, Jarron Blossomgame and Davon Reed were there for ASM. BDA had P.J. Dozier, V.J. Beachem, Nigel Hayes, Chance Comanche and Zou Yuchen.

Following Draft Express on social media, you get the impression that Marks is at the top of the list of GMs who want first-hand looks at the talent. Not every GM has as extensive an itinerary as Marks. Danny Ainge does. R.C. Buford does.

It can’t hurt. At some point, Marks and the staff will gather back at HSS Training Center and equipped with a database of scouting reports, will finalize their internal mock, with estimates of how others will pick, what trades might go down, etc. and their own priorities. It can all change on Draft Night, but they will be prepared.