Nets GM Sean Marks joined WFAN’s “Joe and Evan” on Wednesday afternoon.
Hosts Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts — a Nets fan through and through — tried their best to get as much as they could out of the Nets decision maker, but Marks was measured with his words, per usual.
Despite Marks talking around a bunch of pointed questions with political answers, there were a few noteworthy moments to highlight.
In a season filled with many obstacles, injury woes have been THE topic for Brooklyn and their fans. Entering the season, it was nearly certain that Kevin Durant wouldn’t play as Marks reiterated. But the hope was that Kyrie Irving could carry the load and prove all those haters — in Boston and beyond — wrong.
Irving will end up playing just 20 games for Brooklyn this season after opting for shoulder surgery to correct an injury that has plagued him since November.
Marks admitted that — like the fans — the organization is disappointed to have not had a healthy Irving this season, but nobody is more disappointed than Irving himself, he noted.
Sean Marks on only having Kyrie Irving for 20 games this season:
— Billy Reinhardt (@BillyReinhardt) February 24, 2020
“It is disappointing. Nobody’s probably more disappointed than Kyrie.”
Part of the frustration among Nets fans this season has been a lack of transparency when dealing with Irving’s mysterious shoulder surgery. Putting out very generic injury updates without clear timelines has been a staple of this regime.
Pressed by the passionate Roberts on the way the organization handles injuries, Marks backed his performance team’s methods, but admitted he understands where fans are coming from.
Sean Marks says that he sympathizes with Nets fans like @EvanRobertsWFAN that want more transparency from the team regarding injuries, but he believes injuries are a private manner and they want to make sure they don’t jump the gun and later have to clarify timelines.
— Billy Reinhardt (@BillyReinhardt) February 24, 2020
After the “Clean Sweep” of NBA Free Agency, it was expected that Brooklyn would be in better shape than the seventh seed and four games under .500 in late February, but Marks spun it positively, saying he hopes the resolve the Nets have displayed in dealing with all the obstacles they’ve faced this season might help them over the coming seasons.
Sean Marks says on WFAN that he hopes a couple years down the line the obstacles and hurdles the team has faced this season will have helped the them.
— Billy Reinhardt (@BillyReinhardt) February 24, 2020
Marks added that the success the Nets have shown without nearly sixty-percent of their cap sheet in uniform is a “testament to the resolve” of the group.
Later in the interview, Irving’s infamous comments about the Nets possibly needing another piece or two came up. Marks, unsurprisingly, sided with his point guard and even said he wants to hear the opinions of his star players.
Sean Marks on Kyrie Irving’s comments that the Nets are possibly a piece or two away:
— Billy Reinhardt (@BillyReinhardt) February 24, 2020
“(The guys that signed here) hope to build this... they’ll be perfectly honest. I think it’s important to weigh their opinion from time to time.”
Roberts followed up with a direct question. Has Irving communicated with the front office about specifics: which players he’d like to see Brooklyn add this summer. Marks said Irving hasn’t — at least not yet. Should we take that with a grain of salt? Probably.
Bottom line: expect the Nets to at least try to upgrade their roster this summer.
On Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take” podcast, NBA Insider Shams Charania said that the Nets are one of the league’s most forward thinking organizations and that Brooklyn had begun planning to sign Irving and Kevin Durant as early as three years ago.
Add that to what Marks said about open lines of communication with his stars and it’s hard to believe the Nets haven’t put together a list of potential names target this summer. We know they keep a list of top G Leaguers and an internal mock draft!
Later on, Roberts shared with Marks his belief that the Nets are going to make big move this summer. That generated a chuckle from the Nets GM.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” Marks said.
Finally, Roberts playfully asked the Nets GM to take care of Joe Harris this summer, which prompted quite possibly the most illuminating response Marks provided in the interview.
“There you go, absolutely” responded Marks.
And there you have it. Joe Harris will be taken care of. Now for the rest of the roster, that’s To Be Determined.
- Sean Marks says Nets players could help with summer additions - Nick Wojton - SNY
- Nets GM Sean Marks hints team will be active in the summer - Kristian Winfield - New York Daily News
- Could Nets include Spencer Dinwiddie in a Magic trade package for Aaron Gordon? - Ian Begley - SNY