(Sean Marks – @BrooklynNets)
The Nets hired their new General Manager, Sean Marks, on Thursday and he met with the media on Friday night ahead of their game with the Knicks.
Marks was the Spurs assistant general manager for the past two seasons. The New Zealand native also played and coached for the Spurs.
Marks said, “First of all, it’s a real privilege for me to be here. I want to thank Dmitri (Razumov) and Mr. (Mikhail) Prokorov and the enttire Nets organization for having the faith to bring a little boy from New Zealand all the way here, it’s great.
“I have a big thanks to the family where I came from, from San Antonio, the Spurs organization let me partake in this process and end up here, so that’s special to me. I’m leaving behind some great memories. They’ve helped me become the person I am, the General Manager I am, and this leads me to sitting here in front of you today. I’ve had the opportunity from being a journeyman as a player, I got to see many different teams around the league and around the world and how see things are done differently and how things are done the same. I got the privilege of playing with some terrific players, coaches, and front office staff, so I hope that I can capture all that and bring it to New Jersey (Brooklyn) and have a clear vision for what I’d like to implement here.
“It will be built through a solid, strong foundation, a systematic process, and we’ll be putting something out there on the court that the community can be proud of. We’ll be a competitive bunch of guys both on the court and also behind the scenes, so it’s an exciting time for me. I know it’s an exciting time for the rest of the Brooklyn Nets and I hope for the community as well.
“I’m realistic about the goals and the challenges that are ahead of me for sure, that goes without saying, but again I’m in a great environment with a great group of people. I’ve had a chance to sit with Mr. Prokhorov a little bit and discuss what’s expected here and we seem to have a clear vision together of what the next steps are going to be taken in order to fill out roster-wise, staffing, and so forth, so we’re all on the same page there.
“It was clear to me that Mr. Prokhorov had a winning vision in mind, what he’s done to put Barclays here in Brooklyn, what he’s done with the new practice facility, the commitment to the D-League with the Long Island Nets, so those things all tell me that he’s willing to spend the money in the right places and breing the right people in here. I’m excited to be here and this is going to be a tremendous time,” said Marks.
A veteran of 12 NBA seasons, Marks was originally selected with the 44th pick in the second round of the 1998 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. Over the course of his playing career, he suited up for six different franchises, including the Toronto Raptors (1998-00), Miami Heat (2001-03), Phoenix Suns (2006-08), New Orleans Hornets (2008-10) and Portland Trail Blazers (2010-11). He also spent two seasons with the Spurs (2004-06) and was a member of the 2005 NBA Championship team.
Prior to embarking on his NBA career, Marks spent played four seasons at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as a captain during his senior season (1997-98). He earned his degree in political science from the school in 1998.
Marks is a native of Auckland, New Zealand, representing the country in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. He was also a part of the team that finished fourth at the 2002 FIBA World Championship.
Dmitri Razumov, Chairman of the Nets Board of Directors, said of hiring Marks, “We’re pretty proud of what we’ve done and it’s been a thoughtful process. We didn’t rush, we did an extensive due diligence, interviewed a lot of people, spoke to a lot of people around the league and in the end, what made him our choice. First of all is Sean’s personality, his vast experience playing, coaching and managing around the league. His excitement about building something special here in Brooklyn, not someone else, and last but not the least, the culture of the team, which he learned as a manager. It was a unanimous decision by our decision-making committee.”
Marks said of what led him to decide to take this job, “It was a difficult decision. Anytime you’re having to get out of your comfort zone isn’t easy, but at the same time, my time spent with Mr. Prokhorov, Dmitri, and the rest of the Nets group here during the interviews led me to believe that we have a similar vision and I’m privileged to have had the opportunity in San Antonio to be around really great staff members, both Coach Pop (Gregg Popovich) and R.C. Buford, tremendous mentors for me, so what I’ve learned from them. To be honest, it’s time for me to see if I can do this and it’s not on my own, I’ll bring in a staff and it’ll be a collaborative approach, but I think it’s the right environment to do it.”
Marks said of his vision in turning around the Nets, based on Mikhail Prokhorov saying they could contend next year with a few tweaks, “The vision is to evaluate immediately, so it’ll be evaluating the roster, staff, the needs, finding out what could we put in in the meantime. By no means is this a wasted year, you could still get some things out of this year. We’ve got some really talented young guys on this team that need to be developed. We’ve got a culture that needs to be set, and that starts from Day One. That starts everything that I do here with the help of the organization behind me, is going to help setting that culture.”
Nets Interim Head Coach Tony Brown, said of early impressions of Marks. “I haven’t really had a chance to talk to him yet, I met him briefly. He’s coming from one of the best organizations in our league. Strong winning tradition there. A lot of teams have taken a lot from the Spurs organization. He’s been there as a player, he’s been there as a coach, and obviously, as assistant GM. I think he has a wealth of knowledge in how they do things there and sure he’s going to try to implement some of those things here. I look forward to sitting down and talking with him.”