With less than 48 hours to go, we are now in the ‘Sean Marks Trade Zone’

In the room where it happens, on the eighth floor of HSS Training Center in Sunset Park, this is crunchtime, Historically, Sean Marks makes most of his trades right around the Draft, not the trade deadline in February, although the last two years, with distress sales of superstars, has skewed things a bit.

We’re faced with what is basically a unique situation — and opportunity — for the Nets and Marks. Not only does he have three picks including two unprotected in the first round this year. He has the fourth biggest stash of draft capital in the NBA. And if he moves up even two spots, as some have predicted, the pick would be the highest in Marks tenure as GM. He picked Caris LeVert with at No. 20 in his first draft.

So, we have now entered, once again, the “Sean Marks Trade Zone,” the 48 hour window before the Draft when in the past, a lot of has happened. Other than last year (unless you count the two-way signing of Alondes Williams) Marks has made at least one move within 48 hours of the Draft. Some small, but a few not so small, like trading the franchise’s leading scorer, Brook Lopez, and the 27th pick, for D’Angelo Russell, the No. 2 pick only two years earlier.

Here’s the record.

2016

On the morning of the Draft, the Nets traded Thaddeus Young to the Pacers for the rights to Caris LeVert and a future second, which became Kessler Edwards in 2021 Draft;

2017

Nets traded Brook Lopez and the rights to Kyle Kuzma to the Lakers for D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov;

2018

Nets traded Mozgov, two future second rounders and $5 million in cash to the Hornets for Dwight Howard who they waived.

2019

Nets traded the rights to Mfiondu Kabengele to the Clippers for a first rounder in 2020 and the rights to Jaylen Hands, a salary dump to prepare for the Clean Sweep. (A couple of weeks earlier, they had traded Allen Crabbe and two firsts, including the 17th pick in 2019 for Taurean Prince and a future second which turned into Marcus Zegarowski.)

2020

The Nets, Pistons and Clippers did a three-team deal broken into two components, one two days before the Draft, the other during the second round on Draft Night. The Nets sent out Dzanan Musa, the rights to Hands, a future second, the rights to Saddiq Bey, getting Bruce Brown, Shamet and the rights to Reggie Perry in return.

2021

Two hours before the Draft, the Nets traded Landry Shamet to the Clippers for Jevon Carter and the 29th pick, giving the Nets two picks late in the first round. The pick was more important than Carter because without it, the Nets would have had to choose between Cam Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe.

2022

The Nets had no picks but the ringer on the mobile phones were set at the highest volume. Brooklyn had no picks in the Draft. There was talk that another team had offered a first rounder for Cam Thomas but the Nets declined. Of course, the big news of the week was the report that Kyrie Irving had given the Nets a list of five teams he’d prefer if he and the Nets couldn’t reach an agreement on an extension.