Sean Marks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Okafor, Marks, Frazier

February 20th, 2016 at 8:52am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics came close to pulling off a significant trade involving the Nets‘ 2016 first round pick prior to Thursday’s trade deadline, but the other team pulled out at the last minute, team executive Danny Ainge relayed in a radio appearance on the “Toucher & Rich” show (h/t Dan Feldman of NBCSports.com). “We were very close,” Ainge said. “One story I can probably share with you is – I can’t tell you the team or the name – but it was very close. It was something we had been deliberating on for two days straight. The other team was doing that. And we were wrapping ourselves around a big package to do a deal. And at the very last minute, they just said they did not want to do it. They just backed out. So, it was a deal that was talked about, thought about. And that was probably the closest that we came. We were willing to do one deal, and it just didn’t happen. Both teams weren’t ready to go. And it was a really, tough close deal. And it was certainly not a no-brainer. There was risk on both sides’ part. But at the end of the day, both teams were not ready to do it.”

Though Ainge declined to name both the player and the team he was referring to in the radio spot, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald hears that the talks centered around Sixers rookie center Jahlil Okafor. While fans of both Boston and Philadelphia are left to ponder what might have been if that trade had been consummated, here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

New GM Sean Marks‘ contract with the Nets is a four-year deal that will pay him in excess of $9MM over that span, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).
The Knicks considered signing point guard Tim Frazier, whom the Blazers waived Thursday, but New York instead decided on D-League shooting guard Jimmer Fredette, whom they plan to ink to a 10-day deal, Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal relays (via Twitter).
The Sixers parted ways with JaKarr Sampson on Thursday, but the second-year player had all good things to say about his former team despite being waived, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, having earlier reported that the Sixers want to re-sign him if he clears waivers. “I don’t have anything negative to say about Philly,” Sampson said. “I feel like a lot of people in my situation might have something negative to say about Philly, like a ‘why-me’ type of thing. But I don’t have anything negative to say about the organization. I love those guys. They showed me a lot of love since I’ve been there. The fan base and everything … are great people. Even though we were losing, they still showed us love because we played hard.”

And-Ones: Marks, Foye, Lee

February 19th, 2016 at 11:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Thunder GM Sam Presti referred to the trade with Denver that netted the team Randy Foye, as well as saved the team approximately $9.8MM in cap commitments, as “smart business,” Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman relays (Twitter link). “The roster spot clearly gives us some flexibility to survey other opportunities to improve,” Presti said. “Then financially, that obviously wasn’t the intent of the deal, but because of the presence of Dakari Johnson, Semaj Christon and Alex Abrines in the drafts that we’ve had previously, we feel pretty good about those guys. So the draft choices in this particular draft were more valuable to Denver. And the money that we were able to save, the way that we’ve operated here, that allows us to reinvest in the team and clearly our team is going to become more and more expensive.”

Here’s more from around the league:

The Bucks didn’t make a deal prior to Thursday’s trade deadline and a big reason was that the team considers Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker to be virtually untouchable, Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel writes. One of the duo would likely have had to be included in any swap for a big-name player, which was a non-starter as far as the franchise was concerned, notes Gardner. “Those guys are vault guys,” coach Jason Kidd said. “They’re in the vault. You don’t start a conversation with Jabari or Giannis. There’s no conversation to be had, right. So word gets around that those guys are untradeable.“
The Celtics came close to dealing David Lee, who was waived earlier today, and viewed his expiring contract as a means to work a swap for a marquee player at the trade deadline, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe writes. “We almost had trades a few times, or thought there was a possibility,” team executive Danny Ainge said. “His [Lee] contract was a good way for us to get into a lot of the conversations we had.“
Dmitry Razumov, the chairman of the Nets‘ board of directors, indicated that new GM Sean Marks will guide the team’s search for a new head coach but team ownership will also have input in the process, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com relays (ESPN NOW link). The team is likely to strongly consider San Antonio assistant coach Ettore Messina for the vacant slot, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News opined when Marks’ hiring was first announced.
The Blazers sent $75K to the Heat in exchange for point guard Brian Roberts, which is the minimum allowable amount per league rules, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.

Texas Notes: Howard, Foye, Powell, Anderson

February 19th, 2016 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavericks and Bulls were among the teams the Rockets spoke to about Dwight Howard in the days leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, reiterating earlier reports that Houston talked with the Hawks, Celtics, Hornets, Heat and Bucks. The Rockets held out for one “frontline player” and a first-round pick in return, sources told Stein, though it’s not entirely clear whether he means “frontline” as in “frontcourt” or as in “of importance.” GM Daryl Morey provided a hint, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays.

“It was going to have to take something significant to make us look at anything and even then we probably wouldn’t have,” Morey said in part.

Morey also said that he believes in the combo of Howard and James Harden and was never close to trading Howard, Feigen notes, but according to Chris Mannix of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports, the Rockets understand that Howard and Harden are simply a poor fit on the court. The Rockets and other teams had considerable differences about what a Howard trade would look like, even though executives around the league believe Howard is a better scorer than his numbers in Houston show, Mannix writes. See more from the Texas Triangle:

The Mavericks had some level of interest in Randy Foye before the Nuggets traded him to the Thunder instead Thursday, but the Mavs weren’t going to offer either Devin Harris or Raymond Felton for him, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
The Mavs are always looking for another shooter, president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said, according to Sefko, who indicates in the same piece that the team wouldn’t mind signing a big man, either, as the post-deadline buyout market develops.
Teams offered picks likely to fall in the middle of the first-round to the Mavs for Dwight Powell and Justin Anderson, a source tells Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Presumably that means each of them would have netted that sort of pick individually, and not the two of them as a package.
Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News wouldn’t be surprised to see the Spurs replace former assistant GM Sean Marks with Spurs D-League GM Brian Pauga, also noting that ex-Spurs executive Danny Ferry has been hanging around the team of late (Twitter links). Young made his remarks on the evening before the Nets hired Marks as their GM.

Nets Hire Sean Marks As GM

February 18th, 2016 at 9:18am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets have hired Sean Marks as their GM, the team announced via press release. Marks leaves his job as Spurs assistant GM. He has a four-year contract with Brooklyn, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. Brooklyn had apparently been upping its offer in negotiations late Wednesday, after Marks reportedly turned down the job. The Spurs reportedly envisioned him eventually taking a greater role in their organization and wanted him to stay, but Marks instead joins the Nets on trade deadline day.

“After an exhaustive vetting process, we are delighted to have Sean as our general manager,” Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said in Brooklyn’s statement. “His experience on the court, in coaching and management gives him a 360 degree view of the job at hand. His background helping to build one of the greatest teams in the NBA gives him an unparalleled frame of reference. And he impressed us all with his vision, his values, his personality and his enthusiasm for the club. The vote to select him from an incredible list of talent was unanimous. We welcome Sean into our Nets family and look forward to his strong leadership and independent thinking as we build our own success story.”

Marks takes the reigns from assistant GM Frank Zanin, who’d been running the front office since the team removed Billy King from the job last month. It’s unclear just how much say Marks will have in Brooklyn’s decision-making today with the 2pm Central time trade deadline only hours away.

“I am very excited to be named the general manager of the Brooklyn Nets, and to become a member of the vibrant and dynamic organization that represents Brooklyn,” Marks said, according to the Nets’ press release. “I would like to thank Nets’ ownership for giving me this opportunity, and I look forward to the challenge of creating a unified culture and building a winning team.”

Prokhorov denied on Wednesday that he’d offered the job to Marks, as had been reported, joking that he’d never heard of him. The owner raised the idea of taking another week to make a hire, casting doubt on the idea that the Nets wanted to have a GM in place before the deadline.

Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina reportedly has a strong chance to fill the Nets’ head coaching vacancy now that Marks is in Brooklyn, but the Nets apparently planned on making whomever they’d hire as GM only one part of a committee that will choose the next coach. The same committee was in charge of the GM search, with Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas reportedly next in line had Marks not agreed to take the job, with Rockets executive Gersson Rosas and former Suns and Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo also among those who had been in the final mix.

Marks, 40, had a 12-year NBA playing career that ended with the 2010/11 season. He joined the Spurs organization the next season, and he’s served them in multiple front office and coaching capacities.

Latest On Nets, Sean Marks

February 17th, 2016 at 10:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

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.

Nets Likely To Part Ways With Andrea Bargnani

February 16th, 2016 at 6:59am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 6:59am: Colangelo and Rosas are still in the race for the GM job, Wojnarowski clarifies (on Twitter).

MONDAY, 11:24am: Andrea Bargnani is among the players almost certain to work a buyout with their respective teams if they’re not traded by Thursday’s 2pm Central deadline, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. It’s not surprising to see David Lee and J.J. Hickson as the other names on Wojnarowski’s short list of buyout candidates, since Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck reported earlier this month that the Celtics intended to either trade Lee or do a buyout, while the Nuggets have apparently been shopping Hickson. Bargnani is in the first season of a two-year deal for the minimum salary that includes a player option for next season and is averaging only 13.8 minutes per game, by far the fewest of his 10-year NBA career.

Still, it’s difficult to gauge just what the Nets will do with their personnel, since they’re in the midst of hiring a new GM. Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas and Spurs assistant GM Sean Marks continue to talk with the team as it moves toward second interviews this week, league sources told Wojnarowski. The general consensus around the NBA as of Friday held that former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo would ultimately emerge with the gig, as Beck reported then, though Colangelo and Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas aren’t necessarily out of the running, Wojnarowski indicates. Chris Broussard of ESPN on Thursday identified Colangelo, Karnisovas and Marks as the front-runners for the job that’s been vacant since the Nets removed Billy King from the position last month.

Regardless of whom the Nets choose as GM, he’ll be only one part of a committee that will hire the team’s next coach, Wojnarowski also writes. Various reports have indicated that some combination of team chairman Dmitry Razumov, board member Sergey Kushchenko, CEO Brett Yormark and owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s holding company president Irina Pavlova comprise the committee in charge of the GM search. The new GM will join that group in its efforts to find a coach, according to Wojnarowski. The Nets hope to draw from a pool of coaching candidates that includes NBA head coaching veterans Jeff Van Gundy and Tom Thibodeau and Spurs assistant Ettore Messina. Mike Mazzeo and Marc Stein reported last month that Brooklyn had strong interest in Thibodeau, and Stein later identified Messina as a candidate, but this appears to be the first legitimate link between the Nets and Van Gundy.

Whomever ends up coaching the Nets likely won’t have Bargnani, unless the team speeds through the process. March 1st represents the de facto buyout deadline, since it’s the last day any player can hit waivers and still be eligible to play for another NBA team in the postseason.

And-Ones: Nets’ GM Search, International Players

February 13th, 2016 at 10:38pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The team could hire their next GM in the coming days, but no specific deadline is in place, according to Alex Raskin of The Wall Street Journal.

The general consensus around the league is that the job is Bryan Colangelo’s to lose. Other candidates include Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas, Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, former Cavs and Hawks GM Danny Ferry and Spurs assistant GM Sean Marks. Raskin notes that all the candidates have a background in international basketball, something that will be important for the Nets. Brooklyn doesn’t control its own draft pick until 2019, so acquiring talent through atypical means will be key to putting together a successful roster, Raskin opines.

Here’s more from around the league:

Owner Mikhail Prokhorov expects to be personally involved with the interviewing process while in Brooklyn on Wednesday when the Nets officially open their new training center, Raskin reports in the same piece.
The Spurs were able to trade Tiago Splitter to the Hawks last offseason in part because they had targeted Boban Marjanovic as his replacement, Raskin adds in the same piece. Marjanovic, who went undrafted in 2010, signed a one-year, $1.2MM deal with San Antonio in July.
The Nuggets‘ second round gamble on Nikola Jokic during the 2014 draft is paying tremendous dividends, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post contends in a piece that examines the Serbian’s journey to the NBA.

Sean Marks Contender For Nets GM Post

February 9th, 2016 at 12:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Spurs assistant GM Sean Marks is one of eight candidates for the Nets GM job, NetsDaily writes, confirming an initial dispatch from Fred Kerber of the New York Post that executives with two teams had identified Marks as a “guy to watch” as the Nets zero in on a new front office chief (Twitter link). Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com confirmed that Marks is on a list that also includes former Suns and Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo, former Cavs and Hawks GM Danny Ferry, Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas, Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, and Nets assistant GM Frank Zanin (Twitter link).

It’s unclear who the other two candidates are, though Colangelo appears to be the early favorite. The Nets are conducting interviews this week with the goal of hiring someone before the February 18th trade deadline. Zanin has been running the front office since the team removed Billy King from the GM post last month.

Marks, 40, spent 12 seasons as a player in the NBA, the last of which was 2010/11. He joined the Spurs the next season as a basketball operations analyst and later became director of basketball operations and GM of the team’s D-League affiliate. He was an assistant coach for the 2013/14 season before assuming his current capacity as assistant GM last season.

And-Ones: Union, Ariza, Wizards, O’Neal, Nets

September 24th, 2014 at 10:04am CST by Chuck Myron

Players union executive director Michele Roberts is making $1.2MM this year, the first of a four-year contract, reports Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.com. Roberts, who officially began the job this week, tells Soshnick that she can earn an additional $600K each year of the pact via bonuses. Either way, it’s significantly less than the $3MM that predecessor Billy Hunter was making per year. Still, Roberts’ salary is on par with what first-year executive directors for the NFL and Major League Baseball players unions have made of late, as Soshnick points out. There’s more on Roberts amid the latest from around the league, as we pass along:

Roberts didn’t mince words with Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News in declaring her intention to establish credibility with players and not follow the path of Hunter, whose tenure ended amid allegations of corruption. “I’m sure there are people thinking, ‘Ahh, another politician-like person coming in trying to sell us a bunch of bull,’” Roberts said. “And that’s my job to win them over, to tell them, ‘No, this time it will be different or fire me. I want you to if I even dare replicate my predecessor.’”
Trevor Ariza was asking for $10MM salaries from the Wizards, but GM Ernie Grunfeld wouldn’t go that high in part because he was pursuing Paul Pierce, writes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
Rasual Butler‘s similarities to Pierce helped him earn a spot on the Wizards preseason roster, but Xavier Silas and Damion James each has a better shot at making it to opening night, as Michael adds in the same piece.
Warriors GM Bob Myers spoke with veteran center Jermaine O’Neal on Monday, but Myers tells Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle that he still doesn’t have much clarity about whether O’Neal will retire or re-sign with Golden State.
Jerome Jordan‘s deal with the Nets becomes partially guaranteed for $100K should he remain on the roster through October 25th, not $150K as previously reported, a source tells Robert Windrem of Nets Daily (Twitter link).
Spurs assistant coach Sean Marks is moving off the bench and returning to the front office in a new role as assistant GM, the team announced. Marks spent two years as an executive before San Antonio made him an assistant coach last season.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Spurs Add Sean Marks To Coaching Staff

September 17th, 2013 at 7:05pm CST by Michael Pina

According to MySanAntonio.com's Dan McCarney, the Spurs have moved Sean Marks from the front office to the sidelines, where he'll be an assistant coach on Gregg Popovich's staff next season.

A former player for the team as well, the 38-year-old Marks will replace the recently departed Brett Brown, who became head coach of the Sixers this offseason.