Brooklyn Nets: How Sean Marks rebuilt Brooklyn and claimed New York

NBA-worst record in 2016-17 not a shock

As expected, the first season of the Marks-Atkinson era did not show immediate returns. The Brooklyn Nets finished with a league-worst 20-62 record. Despite this, young players like Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and Spencer Dinwiddie showed promise in their first season with the Nets.

In the summer of 2017, Marks returned to his restricted free agent strategy, signing Otto Porter to an offer sheet only for the Wizards to match.

That came after he made his biggest move yet, trading Brook Lopez and a first-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers for D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov.

Russell’s tenure with Los Angeles was plagued by issues off the court, particularly an incident involving teammate Nick Young. However, Marks saw a talented 21-year-old guard who was being overlooked.

Brooklyn found its Lopez replacement in the draft, selecting Texas center Jarrett Allen with the 22nd pick. Allen, a rim-protecting big with a ridiculous 7’6″ wingspan, fell to the Nets after being mocked in the mid-teens by most draft analysts.

Marks continued his shrewd offseason by taking on DeMarre Carroll‘s contract along with a first-round pick from the Toronto Raptors for Justin Hamilton.

The Nets improved by eight games the following season, with several players taking major steps forward. Brooklyn’s player development staff, led by Atkinson and Harrington, worked wonders in adding to the skill sets and confidence of Dinwiddie, Harris and LeVert.