GM Sean Marks Addresses Brooklyn Nets Rebuild

The Brooklyn Nets’ chief decision maker spoke about the future of his team.

Nov 9, 2022; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks speaks during a press conference before a game against the New York Knicks at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

With the basketball world waiting to see how the Brooklyn Nets approach their ongoing rebuild, general manager Sean Marks touched on his team’s future on Thursday in separate comments to the YES Network and The New York Post.

“The ultimate goal here is at some point to be able to say, ‘Hey, we’re contending for a championship,’” Marks said to The Post’s Brian Lewis. “That’s what every team wants to be able to build up to do that. And hopefully with the flexibility that we’ve got and we’ll have an opportunity to do that at some point. When that is, I couldn’t answer.” 

The Nets currently have 15 first-round picks in the next seven drafts — a league-high mark — as well as 16 second-rounders. Brooklyn are also projected to have around $54.7 million in cap space for next season, although that figure could rise to about $70 million in the case of further roster moves. 

“We've talked about building long-term sustainable success, and that's what we want to get to,” Marks said to the YES Network. “And how we're going to do that is going to be through these future draft picks and draft assets that we get.”

Brooklyn most recently traded Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton to the Los Angeles Lakers for D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks. The Nets also acquired three second-round picks when they sent Dennis Schröder to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Reece Beekman, De’Anthony Melton and the aforementioned draft compensation.

Sean Marks caught up with @sarahkustok to discuss recent roster movement and the upcoming trade deadline. pic.twitter.com/QTChWaShUo

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) January 3, 2025

Marks discussed the Lakers deal: “We were obviously having discussions with multiple teams, as teams do at this particular point in the year. So that's not out of the ordinary. But the deal with the Lakers is probably a total of, I don't know, half a day, 12 hours, something like that from start to finish. So give Rob and the Lakers a lot of credit for coming to the table. And this particular trade gives us what we need in the long term.”

The hottest name on the trade rumor block continues to be Cam Johnson. The 28-year-old wing is putting together the best season of his career in the borough, and is drawing league-wide interest. Recent links to Golden State and the Oklahoma City Thunder have persisted, but it’s also worth keeping an eye on the Sacramento Kings. 

The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported on Thursday that the Kings have held “extensive talks” with the Nets about Johnson. Multiple reports echo that Brooklyn want at least one first-rounder in order to part ways with their best wing.

At the same time, all-star guard De’Aaron Fox’s future in Sacramento looks more uncertain than ever. Nets head coach Jordi Fernández was an associate head coach for the Kings from 2022 until 2024. Fox is represented by Klutch Sports Group, which also counts Noah Clowney and Keon Johnson as clients. The Nets previously also signed Klutch clients Darius Bazley and Lonnie Walker IV, for instance, although the latter is no longer with the Los Angeles-based agency. Ben Simmons was also a Klutch client when he arrived in Brooklyn, but he is now with Bernie Lee. The NBA trade deadline is on Feb. 6.

“It's never easy. Being an ex-player, I understand that,” Marks said about the upcoming date. “I think for us, it's going to be [to] go out there and compete. And Jordi knows that, and the coaching staff knows that from the very get-go here, [it] is you guys go compete and you build a culture of going out there — a competitive culture. I'm never going to tell them to not do that, and I think that's contagious.”

A potential move for Fox, or any other big name that could be on the move like Jimmy Butler or Brandon Ingram, would almost certainly expedite the Nets’ rebuild from a multi-year process to maybe only a couple of seasons. It would also mean spending a lot more money in the short-term, but as Marks said to The Post on Thursday, team governor Joe Tsai has “proved that at the right time, he’ll go all-in" even with the NBA’s new and more restrictive collective bargaining agreement.

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