Nets GM Sean Marks to remain in his role, help hire new coach, report says
Nets GM Sean Marks speaks to the media after practice at the HSS Training Center in Brooklyn on Feb. 20, 2024. Credit: Ed Quinn
Nets general manager Sean Marks said in February that he expects to be part of the hiring process for the team’s next head coach. Even though the Nets missed the playoffs, that won’t change.
Marks will retain his position next season, according to a report in the New York Post. It affirmed what Marks said two months ago: that he and owner Joe Tsai will decide on the team’s next coach.
“Joe and I will make this decision and he has given me no reason to believe that I won’t be able to make that decision,” Marks said then.
The Nets declined comment Friday.
Marks’ comments, the last time he’s spoken publicly, came after the Nets fired previous coach Jacque Vaughn. Vaughn’s last game was Feb. 14 in Boston, when the Nets lost by 50 points, their worst defeat since moving to Brooklyn in 2012.
The Nets then hired Kevin Ollie as interim coach. It was the first time Ollie has led a team since 2012-18 with UConn.
“From assistant coach, now head coach, having the experience to be a little bit closer to the fans and the energy is very invigorating to my soul, and I’m grateful to have this opportunity one more time,” Ollie said at the time.
The Nets are expected to have a thorough coaching search this offseason. It will be Marks’ fourth head coach since he was hired in February 2016.
It will be a pivotal decision for the franchise after the Nets’ streak of making the playoffs ended at five seasons. Marks said he and Tsai are in “complete partnership” with how to direct the Nets’ future.
“We’ve got time, we’re not gonna be in a rush, there’s gonna be a robust search,” Marks said. “By the end of this, I have no doubt that we’ll come and find the best person fit for this job.”
The Nets’ next coach is tasked with keeping the team relevant as they struggled through their first losing season since 2019-20. With the Knicks returning to playoff status, it’s imperative the Nets avoid a repeat of this season.
Of Marks’ last three hires, only Vaughn previously was a head coach. Marks said he won’t prioritize someone with head-coaching experience but wouldn’t rule it out, either.
“There’s definitely not a mandate to have that. I hate to already cut the field down,” Marks said in February. “I think it’s really important that we cast a very wide search web for this.”
It’s a decision that he’ll ride into next season after the Nets finished this season 11th out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference.
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
