When it came to who is in charge of the Brooklyn Nets, general manager Sean Marks did his darndest to try to convey that the buck stopped with himself and head coach Steve Nash.
In his first meeting with the media since the Nets were eliminated from the playoffs, Marks tried to change the narrative around how much power superstar Kevin Durant and to a lesser extent, Kyrie Irving had in decisions and strategy. Since his arrival in Brooklyn, Durant has been viewed as a major stakeholder in decisions surrounding the team.
“I think that’s a little bit of a misnomer there where people think player empowerment means you just let them do whatever they want to do,” Marks said. “That wasn’t the case when Steve was a player, certainly wasn’t the case when I was a player on any of the teams we’ve been on and it’s not the case here. I think involving players in key decisions and the right decisions in particular points in the season is the right way to do it. There’s nothing worse than having players surprised by something.
“You want to feel that they’re a part of this. That’s the way we run our organization and that’s the way we’ve run it since 2016. We collaborate, we’re together from top to bottom.”
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Considering how much of the Nets revolves around Durant and Irving, it has been fair to assume that they’ve had a lot of say in basketball decisions. Even Nash’s offense centered around the two superstars.
“I’m going to have everybody’s opinion. I think it’s valuable,” the Brooklyn Nets GM continued. “It doesn’t always mean we’re going to agree, we’re not. That’s the fun part is the disagree and commit when you leave here. Same goes to the players, I want them to know that they’re a part of this. Steve will do the same when he talks to the players about whether it’s a particular play or what have you. Get their thoughts, defensive schemes, whatever it may be. But at the end of the day, the buck stops here and here.”
The Brooklyn Nets will have a lot to consider as they go through this offseason, among the top items will be Kyrie Irving’s future.
