brooklyn network General Manager Sean Marks has had to deal with several days of intense tension and some uncomfortable press conferences over the past year.
Tuesday is especially difficult.
Marks had to explain why he parting ways with coach Steve Nash As reported by Ime Udoka, there are only seven games left in the season – while it appears to have gone through a complicated process to find a controversial potential replacement.
All this news in the form of Kyrie Irving threw the team into another bout of death, something the Nets publicly did little to do, with Marks having to answer multiple questions while Irving remained unreported for the second day in a row.
When faced with the conundrums of the past few months, Marks often did it with Nash, a longtime friend. Nash was also relieved of this duty, and the general manager handled it alone.
Here’s an annotated look at what Marks said – and didn’t say – as the franchise faced drama on at least three different fronts:
Editor’s note: Interview edited for brevity
On whether Nets players were consulted in the decision to move from Nash:
“No. There’s been no input from any of the players on this. I think this is a decision we don’t need. Steve and I don’t need that. Obviously it’s not. I talked to each other [owner] Joe [Tsai] about this, but the players were not consulted. They were informed in advance that this was the direction we were going. “
Regarding the timing of the joint decision between the Nets and Nash:
“When we had these conversations, [Nash] aware that ‘they’re not responding to me right now’ or ‘it’s not a performance I need to see there’, etc. We are open to the ongoing dialogue. And you know, of course, you know, last week, 10 days, we talked and talked, and I think that happened. “
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It’s rare for an NBA coach to be given a day off for a game day, much less about 12 hours after winning (the Nets beat Indiana Pacers 116-109 on the second night).
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Marks explains that the business decision was made over several days. If the timeline he mentioned here is accurate, these conversations will actually begin just a few days into the 2022-23 season.
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If Marks and Nash knew where things were going, that would allow the Nets to begin the process of looking into Ime Udoka’s situation with Boston Celtics.
On whether the Nets have identified their next coach:
“No. Absolutely not.”
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Marks can debate the meaning of the word “determined,” but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported within hours of Nash’s departure that Udoka would likely replace Nash within a day or two.
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Considering Udoka’s suspension situation is unclear while under contract with the Celtics, it can be seen that the process of bringing in Udoka and sending Nash away has been going on for some time.
On what a new coach will bring to the Nets:
“When I look at the group of boys out there, I’d love to see them play at the highest level. I mean, we watched the games this year there, to be honest, I don’t think that’s it. We’ve delivered that.” I won’t be playing. There are quarters break, half half break, one game break. We are not competitive. … The candidates that we are looking for, will be looking for, that will be one of their attributes. Compete and have a voice to hold the boys accountable.
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This was the only time Marks actually criticized Nash and the players during the press conference. Mentioning a voice demanding that players be held accountable could be a sign of impending Udoka recruitment, who made a reputation for doing it with his star players for a season as head coach in Boston.
On whether the Nets are comfortable hiring Udoka:
“Obviously, there’s a reason why we made this move when we did, because time is ticking. So we wanted the process to be a comprehensive one. We did. won’t skip steps on that. And we’ll do it diligently.”
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This is a coded question about Udoka and his suspension for inappropriate things at work. Marks issued a coded reply, implying the Nets had looked into the matter but was still willing to make the hire because the season was on.
On how Nets fans should react to the latest news and controversy:
“Listen, that’s understandable. I totally sympathize with what’s going on here. I’m certainly not proud of the situation we’re in, you know? … Concerning Kyrie , we are having discussions … . From the highest levels [that] we engage with ADL [Anti-Defamation League] and get their advice and just hope they can advise us. We can come up with something so that both sides, all parties can at least understand each other here and understand that there is no tolerance and no place for any hate speech, any recognition. any objection, whether it is within this organization or any organization for that matter.”
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As Marks says this, Irving’s social media post mentions a movie with protest antics that’s been five days old. Irving’s comments in which he defended his pick were three days old, as were official statements condemning them by both Nets owner Joe Tsai and the team itself.
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Irving deleted the post a day earlier. Nor is it clear the nature of the discussions that Marks and the Nets had.
Regarding possible penalties for Irving:
“As I mentioned before, we’re talking to ADL right now. That’s on the level of Joe Tsai, our CEO and myself and the team, and really just trying to balance it out. remind me exactly what is the best course of action here. Part of it will be to work together so they can understand where people are coming from. There is an education part for everyone here. part empathy for this and understand that we need to move on and we need to do the right thing without a doubt.”
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Marks implied that there would be some sort of meeting between Irving, the Nets, and ADL, but he wasn’t clear on any such details.
In addition to a penalty, the topic of Irving still playing with the Nets is mentioned:
“We’ve tried to do a little bit to be both honest. By keeping him – he wasn’t doing media last night, he’s not doing media tonight. Someday he’ll be up here and doing media again, but I think at this point we don’t want to cause a lot of trouble right now, interact more with people. this whole matter, I guess let’s keep the mind cooler. We need to go out and educate ourselves, educate the whole group and get some direction, seek from the experts, and one of their number is definitely ADL.”
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This was perhaps the most remarkable response of the press conference. Marks admitted the team would continue to violate tournament rules by not letting Irving speak to the media as it could cause “noise”. Whether true or not, this could imply that Irving is not ready to apologize while the team is not ready to take real action regarding his previous actions or comments.
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The league did not announce any fines on Tuesday for violating its communications policy. Irving declined to speak to the media on Monday night after he scored 28 points in helping the Nets break a four-game losing streak with eight fans sitting in the front row at Barclays Center wearing “Against Owners” t-shirts. anti-Semitic meaning”.
On why Irving is still not speaking to the media:
“Everybody knows he’s going to have to answer these questions at some point and he hasn’t shied away in the past, but I think the last post-game meeting didn’t go well and we didn’t. try to cover it up. I think this is something that needs to be addressed, but deal with it in the right form or fashion, and then we’ll let you know.”
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The Nets are closed on Wednesdays. Irving, who played one of his worst games as the Net on Tuesday night, scoring just six points, will not speak to the media for four days. Player contracts and tournament rules require speaking to the media after each game.
On whether the Nets can still chase a title this season:
“…My job here is to put this team, this organization in the best possible position to succeed, not just now but for the long term. We don’t want to skip steps. We don’t. But we realized that, I’ll be honest, we have an opportunity here and when we have this group of players and this salary cap, and we do. Where are we, we hope to get there.. some moves and they changed.We hope to be one of those teams, because [arriving] at our discretion, we will [make] hopefully in the next few days that will be the catalyst for change. “
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The Nets have a payroll of $185 million and are scheduled to pay $108 million in luxury taxes, so the investment in the team is more than a quarter of a billion dollars this season. From 2023 to 2027, the Nets’ first pick is due to Houston Rockets either outright or swap could stifle any rebuilding discussion.
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Some have called on the Nets to consider tearing it down and trading Irving and Durant. Marks seems to have made that clear with his answer: It doesn’t happen. Replacing the main coach is giving this team every chance to succeed.
On how the Nets’ recent actions and changes will affect Durant:
“You know, I think we have to take all of these things into account. I mean, it’s certainly not an easy decision to come to this particular intersection now and when we put it in. When it comes to making decisions about who we’re going to hire, I think we have to look at what’s best for us now but also long-term.”
