On The Vertical Podcast, Adrian Wojnarowski asks Nets general manager Sean Marks about the interview process, his path to becoming the first New Zealand-born general manager, his various roles and work with the San Antonio Spurs under R.C. Buford and Gregg Popovich, as well as the long road ahead to bring the Nets back to relevance in the NBA in a 40-minute interview.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it, there’s absolutely a challenge ahead,” Marks said.
The Nets, as Marks (and most NBA fans) know, don’t have control of a first-round draft pick until 2019. While Marks joked “let’s not bring all that up” when draft picks were first brought up, he did later mention that the team would tap into the international market and utilize their new D-League team to find and develop players. “We’re going to have to be open to everything,” Marks said, adding that he’d try to be “strategic” in getting into the first round.
Marks also spoke throughout the podcast of expanding the team’s front office and scouting department, including sports science and analytics. He diminished the role of competing with the Knicks in his job, and added that chasing headlines would not be his goal.
After Marks’s discussion, Wojnarowski talks to NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum about how NBA teams have begun hiring less and less minority candidates, which piggybacks recent rumblings around the league that Marks — who is generally considered a strong candidate — was one of eight non-black candidates the Nets interviewed to replace Billy King.
Interesting listen. Check it out below.
The Vertical — The Vertical Podcast with Woj | Brooklyn Nets GM Sean Marks & NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum joins The Vertical Podcast
