Nets GM Sean Marks optimistic but prepared for bumpy remainder of season

The Nets reconvened on Tuesday for their first practice after the All-Star break. With 23 games to go and uncertainty surrounding Kevin Durant’s health, Kyrie Irving’s availability and Ben Simmons’ conditioning, expectations going into a potential postseason must be a little low, right?

As they say in Brooklyn, fuhgeddaboudit.

General manager Sean Marks, speaking at a Barclays Center event on Tuesday night, gave a one-word answer when asked by Michael Grady of the YES Network about expectations for a full Nets squad:

"Championship," Marks said to applause from the crowd.

"I mean," Marks continued, "I would be doing 17 players and another 60 staff members over there a massive disservice if I said anything other than that, because that's [why] we're all here . . . I think our biggest dilemma is probably going to be that cohesion, chemistry, the bonds that are formed getting as many minutes as we possibly can, and I don't know how many games these guys are going to play together."

Here’s one game Durant, Irving and Simmons are all not going to play: Thursday’s second-half opener in Brooklyn against the Celtics. Marks said Durant looks good in practice, but there’s no official word on when the All-Star will return from the sprained MCL that has had him out since Jan. 15.

The challenges the Nets face are many. The opportunities they have in a wide-open league are also many.

Can Durant get healthy? Will the unvaccinated Irving be allowed to play in all games and not just road games? Will Simmons, who hasn’t played a minute since last season’s playoffs, be his best self once he hits the court?

And how will coach Steve Nash merge this strange mélange into a cohesive group for the NBA’s biggest moments?

It could be epic. It could also be awful.

"Buckle up. Hold on," Marks said. "It’s going to be one helluva ride."

About New York City changing its COVID-19 rules so the unvaccinated Irving could be permitted to play in all games, Marks said: "I have to be optimistic like everybody here. I mean, I think we all know what's at stake here. I think if you if you turn on CNN or BBC or FOX or whatever your flavor is, you see how everything's changing, right? . . . We're starting to see a sense of normality again, getting back to life. We have to go on. There's enough people, vaccine rates are obviously high. So I am optimistic. I have to be optimistic. I mean, I think that's the only way to look at this."

Also on Tuesday: The calvary has arrived. The Nets announced the signing of veteran point guard Goran Dragic — a Nash favorite — for the rest of the season.

To make room on the roster, the club requested waivers on guard Jevon Carter.

Dragic, 35, entered free agency after the San Antonio Spurs bought out his contract following a trade from the Toronto Raptors last month.

Dragic played in five games for Toronto, none after Nov. 13. On Nov. 28, he left the team to attend to a personal matter.

"We know what Goran can do," Marks said. "He's tried, true, tested, a fierce competitor. It was very clear why he wants to be here and that’s championship."

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.