Sports Illustrated Kids – September 2019

64 / SPORTS ILLUSTRATED KIDS

BY CHRIS MANNIX

front-office gigs, doesn’t like it much.

Too isolated. Doesn’t encourage
collaboration. Most days, he’s down
the hall in the war room, a sparsely

decorated space in the middle of the
facility. There, analytics staffers

NOTHING

NETS

The brightest lights in

basketball’s biggest

city—suddenly,

shockingly—belong

to Brooklyn, which

reinvented its culture

and image. All that shine,

however, does not

come without risk.

as the No. 1 team in the city.

banter with scouts. Coaches pop in. If

you have an idea for improving the

team, Marks wants to hear it.

On June 30, Marks and his staff

gathered in the war room for the

opening hours of free agency. There

was confidence that the team was

positioned to land two of the biggest

names on the market: Kevin Durant

and Kyrie Irving. “Nervous

anticipation,” says Marks. Just before

5:00 came the first reports: Both

planned to sign with the Nets.

In February 2016, the Nets hired

Marks, an assistant GM in