THURSDAY, 7:11am: The Nets have ratcheted up their offer to Marks, Stein hears, with negotiations going late into Wednesday night and a decision expected within the next 24 hours, a source tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Prokhorov was kidding when he said he didn’t know Marks, Lewis writes.
10:14pm: Negotiations are continuing between Marks and the Nets, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. Brooklyn made a contract offer on Tuesday, and talks on contract terms and duties within the organization continued today. Sources told Wojnarowski that the Nets will turn to Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas if Marks doesn’t accept the job.
4:40pm: Marks is still contemplating whether to take the Nets’ GM job, and the Spurs are hoping they can talk him into remaining in San Antonio, according to Mike Mazzeo and Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
2:07pm: Marks has turned down the job, multiple people around the NBA tell Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post, which further suggests that the Nets did indeed make an offer (Twitter link).
1:13pm: Prokhorov said today he hasn’t offered the job to Marks and denies even knowing Marks’ name, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com and Brian Lewis of the New York Post relay (Twitter links). The owner added might take another week to make a hire.
WEDNESDAY, 10:58am: Marks is leaning against taking the job, league sources told Mitch Lawrence of The Sporting News (Twitter link).
9:45pm: There’s no guarantee that Marks will accept the position, Wojnarowski writes in a full-length post. Spurs president/coach Gregg Popovich and Buford hold Marks in high regard, and the organization has been grooming him to eventually to take over a more significant role in the organization, the Vertical scribe relays.
TUESDAY, 9:20pm: The Nets have formally offered Spurs assistant GM Sean Marks their vacant GM position, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). The franchise had hoped to have its new GM in place by Thursday’s trade deadline, which could be the case if Marks formally accepts the team’s offer. If Marks does in fact join the Nets, there is an excellent chance that San Antonio assistant coach Ettore Messina will be in line for Brooklyn’s vacant head coaching slot, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News adds (on Twitter).
The news that Marks is Brooklyn’s choice comes as a bit of surprise based on previous reports which stated the general consensus around the league was that the job was Bryan Colangelo’s to lose. Other candidates interviewed by the Nets include Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas, Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, former Cavaliers GM Chris Grant, current Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard and former Cavs and Hawks GM Danny Ferry.
Nets team owner Mikhail Prokhorov is said to be a huge fan of the Spurs organization and reportedly is enamored with San Antonio GM R.C. Buford, which may explain the team ultimately going with Marks over Colangelo. As a member of the Spurs organization, Marks is well-versed in international scouting, an area that is reportedly of prime importance to Prokhorov going forward.