Brooklyn Nets: Sean Marks’ 5 best trades as BK GM
As we approach this year’s NBA trade deadline, the Brooklyn Nets are currently second in the East, competing with the Philadelphia 76ers for the conference’s top seed. Despite the current excitement, Brooklyn fans should not forget the franchise’s journey over the past few seasons.
Let’s go back to the 2016 NBA offseason, when the Nets were still struggling to rebuild from their trade with the Boston Celtics in 2013. An aging Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, & Jason Terry went to Brooklyn for one short playoff run. Afterward, the Nets suffered on the court for the following two NBA seasons, and exiled General Manager Billy King left with the team with few assets to overcome the roster issues.
The Nets couldn’t motivate the NBA’s best players to come to Brooklyn. On Feb. 18, 2016, Brooklyn changed everything by hiring Sean Marks to become the team’s General Manager. Mr. Marks had played eleven seasons with seven NBA teams. He earned a championship ring with the San Antonio Spurs in the 2004-05 season.
After his NBA career concluded in 2011, he began work for the San Antonio Spurs and won his second NBA title with the Spurs as an assistant coach in 2014. Since the Nets’ hiring of Sean Marks, he has guided the franchise from laughingstock to a serious NBA title contender.
There’s no better time than Deadline Day to examine Sean Marks’ best five trades as the Brooklyn Nets’ General Manager.
5. The Brooklyn Nets’ Bruce Brown/Landry Shamet Mega-Deal
On Nov. 19, 2020, as part of a three-team trade, the Brooklyn Nets traded Saddiq Bey, Jaylen Hands, Dzanan Musa, and a 2021 second-round draft pick to the Detroit Pistons and assets to the Los Angeles Clippers, receiving (primarily) Reggie Perry, Landry Shamet and Bruce Brown in return.
After losing to the Toronto Raptors in the NBA playoffs, the Nets wanted to find some extra firepower in the backcourt, and Marks pulled off a three-team deal during the NBA Draft.
The transaction wasn’t cheered loudly by most Nets fans, yet Brown and Shamet have become reliable contributors to the team’s rotation. Brown is averaging 8.3 points per game, 4.5 rebounds, and sports a 57.7% field goal percentage. Shamet averages 7.8 per game, 83% from the free-throw line & 37.4% from the 3-point area.
4. Brooklyn Nets Trade Thaddeus Young for Caris LeVert
On July 7, 2016, Brooklyn changed direction and traded Thaddeus Young to the Indiana Pacers for Caris LeVert and a future second-round draft pick (which was protected 45-60 from 2017-22).
Early in his tenure, the Nets looked for improvement from their 20-62 record. Marks’ focus was to combine a core of promising younger players on the roster. Brooklyn also had a few older guys, like guard Joe Johnson and forward Thaddeus Young.
During the 2016 offseason, one of Marks’ first deals was to get the former University of Michigan guard in exchange for Young. The beloved LeVert would go on to become one of the best young bucket-getters in the NBA. He was named All-League Second Team during the seeding games in Orlando this past summer.
All told, LeVert averaged 13.1 points, 3.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds & 43.3% field goal percentage in five seasons with the Brooklyn Nets.
3. Brooklyn Nets Acquire D’Angelo Russell
On June 22, 2017, Marks once again altered his team’s immediate future and reset the clock on their potential when he traded Kyle Kuzma and Brook Lopez to the Los Angeles Lakers for D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov.
At the end of Marks’ first season as GM, the Nets improved from 20 to 28 wins. Brooklyn was looking for a young star player to be the centerpiece of their new core. Marks would make a draft-night trade with the Los Angeles Lakers, acquiring former No. 2 pick D’Angelo Russell and center Timofey Mozgov. In return, the Nets traded center Brook Lopez and forward Kyle Kuzma.
Now, some Nets fans may have regret losing Kuzma, yet the Nets were able to maximize Russell’s on-court talent. His growth helped to change the perception of the Nets around the league. Russell’s play in Brooklyn was a symbol of the franchise’s rebirth and a preview of things to come.
2. Kevin Durant Comes to the Brooklyn Nets
On July 7, 2019, Marks completely changed the trajectory of this franchise, flipping Russell, Treveon Graham, and Shabazz Napier to the Golden State Warriors for Kevin Durant and a 2020 first-round draft pick (top-20 protected).
While the Nets had proven to the NBA’s best players to be a team on the rise, Brooklyn was one of many teams competing to sign free agents like Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Kawhi Leonard.
Early into the free agency period, Irving and Durant announced that they would sign with Brooklyn. The Golden State Warriors and Brooklyn Nets decided to execute a sign-and-trade instead, and the arrival of the two superstars then quickly placed Brooklyn among current NBA championship contenders.
1. James Harden Completes the Brooklyn Nets’ Big 3
Now, some fans may disagree and believe the Durant trade was more important for the franchise, yet the Harden deal has proven more critical for Brooklyn’s title chances this year due to the injuries of Durant and Irving.
The massive four-team, six-player, eight-draft-pick trade brought the former NBA MVP to the Nets. By combining Harden, Irving, and Durant on the court, Brooklyn has created the NBA’s newest “superteam.” The Nets have overcome some early struggles to reach a 30-14 record so far this season, and Harden has played at an MVP-caliber level in his first season in the borough. Now, Brooklyn has become one of the betting favorites to win the 2020-21 NBA championship.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget the journey from failure to success. For Nets fans, it’s time to look back and appreciate the current GM’s great moves over his tenure. No matter what happens before this year’s trade deadline, we should thank Sean Marks for guiding the Brooklyn Nets through the tough times.
