Can Kiwi Marks make mega-deal work?
Analysis: Sean Marks has turned the Brooklyn Nets from the laughing stock of the NBA to playoff regulars in less than four years.
But the Kiwi general manager – the first New Zealander to play in the NBA – and head coach Steve Nash may yet have their biggest challenge ahead of them, and it’s not even on the basketball court.
With Marks securing the ubertalented yet wayward superstar James Harden in a blockbuster trade from the Houston Rockets, the Nets now have a championship-contending roster.
But man-managing three of the most polarising personalities in the league is the price Marks and co will have to absorb in exchange for having a trio of on-court superstars amongst their arsenal.
Bringing a difficult child such as Harden into the mix alongside the controversial Kyrie Irving could be the equivalent of having twin boys and only one bike.
Harden reuniting with former OKC teammate and longtime friend Kevin Durant could provide a steady influence that will deliver the Nets the best version of Harden.
Keeping Harden and Irving on the rails, more specifically on the same line, will provide the master key to unlocking a Nets championship.
Marks went to his two existing superstars to see if they really wanted to share the stage with Harden and got the response he was after. Marks, who began his own NBA career with the Toronto Raptors in 1998, has quickly moved to ensure Nets fans that their three aces are on the same page.
‘‘They understand what’s at stake here,’’ Marks told AP. ‘‘Everybody’s raised their hands and said, ‘Look, we’re in. We know what we’re shooting for’ and that includes James, the new player. He knows what’s at stake.’’
Harden, who became frustrated in Houston, has often been described as high maintenance by former teammates, and he joins the Nets in the middle of a saga that Marks is already dealing with, involving Irving.
On the same day, the NBA introduced stricter health and safety protocols for its players around the Covid-19 pandemic in the wake of multiple games being postponed, video surfaced of Irving at an indoor family gathering while not wearing a mask.
Irving has missed four straight games for what the Nets are calling personal reasons and will likely face a quarantine period upon his return and possibly a fine but Marks has moved to downplay any suggestions that he is unhappy at the Nets.
‘‘I think it’s been well documented that if there’s reasonable excuses for their absence, fine, we have got to support, whether it’s our players or whether it’s our staff, and you would do that in any industry,’’ Marks told AP. ‘‘But you also hope there is an adequate, more than adequate excuse as to like, why he needs personal time. And he will address that without a doubt.’’ Harden was recently fined US$50,000 (NZ$70,380) when he attended an indoor private party, violating protocols.
Marks, who won a championship ring as a player and as an assistant coach at the Spurs, has divided analysts and social media commentators by drafting in Harden.
Marks might have done a stellar job with the Nets roster during his time in Brooklyn to date, but avoiding a player power style bust-up with his trio of big stars, who have the egos to match, will be the key to his Nets legacy.
When the Kiwi hoops trailblazer stepped away from the San Antonio Spurs – where he worked as an assistant coach before moving into the front office as an assistant general manager – to take on his current role in Brooklyn, the Nets were described by the New York Post as ‘‘the biggest mess in sports’’. Most smart basketball brains were predicting a 10-year rebuild to make the playoffs, if it was even possible.
Something they have achieved twice in the last two seasons under Marks’ watch.
In just four years Marks has had a mammoth impact on turning around the fortunes of the Nets but with Harden, Durant and Irving on the same roster, not delivering an NBA championship in the next few years will inevitably heap pressure on himself, Nash and the entire Brooklyn operation. Can they blend three champions into a roster to make a team of champions?
‘‘I think everybody knows what this team is positioned and potentially capable of doing,’’ Marks told AP. ‘‘Now we’ve got to get everybody jelling, get everybody on the same page and I don’t know if that takes two games, 10 games, 20 games, whatever it is. But there’s certainly the talent there.
‘‘At the end of the day, it goes back to when you have the opportunity to add James Harden to your roster, you’re certainly going to do your due diligence and you’re going to do everything you possibly can to make that happen,’’ Marks said.
‘‘I think he’s [Harden] looking for a fresh start and I think these guys are going to have to sacrifice without a doubt,’’ Marks told AP. ‘‘But they’re also going to push us. They’re going to push our franchise and hopefully take us to where we need to go.’’
To get the deal done with Harden, Marks has given up significant trade assets, including four first-round picks and four pick swaps in a complicated deal involving four teams. It’s the kind of gamble that will either dramatically implode or be made into a movie for its rags-to-riches tale.
If it’s the latter, Marks will surely be forever remembered as the greatest sports administrator New Zealand has ever produced.
But that’s one tall if.