The Brooklyn Nets had planned to go through a fast turnaround in their efforts to rebuild after being left with a hollowed-out roster following the 2015-16 season. Sean Marks took the reins from there after being hired in 2016, quickly seeing a window of opportunity at the end of his first season with the team:
“We planned a couple years out that we could have an opportunity here … now you never know how it's going to play out because there are a lot of different contracts, guys can opt-in, guys can opt-out but again, for us, really the big picture was going to be staying flexible and never getting locked into a team that we thought really couldn't compete at the highest level,” Marks told Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. “I think when you have a window or you have an opportunity to swing for it and take a chance, take a challenge, and you can do it with the right people that's when you have to do it.”
Marks seems to be cognizant that this project has some luck factor built into it, but he was also responsible for his willingness to not cut corners and stay committed to the vision he had upon joining the front office. Even when there were some struggles this past season, he never doubted the plan:
“No. it sounds a little strange, but I didn't have doubts because when we went through that tough little patch there, losing eight in a row, Kenny and I were obviously spending a lot of time together. Every day, we got our alone time together, which is great. And to be honest he was a rock during that time. I mean he was sitting there saying, ‘We've got to trust what we've done, got to trust the people we've brought in, this is going to turn, this is going to turn.' And I admired that. I love that. I loved hearing that. And you can't hope for anything more than to hear your head coach have the passion. And the will to just sort of compete and never give up. I love that about Kenny and he sort of wills that throughout the organization.”
That commitment itself was one of the major draws for free agents like Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, who looked for institutional consistency to go with the location of their next destination. The Nets' flexibility allowed them to arrange some salary cap gymnastics and sign DeAndre Jordan to a four-year deal worth $40 million, solidifying the trust of both incoming free agents.
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