The Nets always have a nickname problem. They started life as New Jersey Americans, but on July 15, 1968, they announced that they would cross a few bridges and settle in Nassau County. They also decided to change the name.
“It’s a good-sounding name, and it sounds good,” explained Arthur Brown, the team’s owner at the time. “It’s tied to the Mets and Jets and has a basketball connotation. Last year, I didn’t like that a headline writer shortened our name to ‘Amerks.’ They won’t be able to shorten this. ”
(Yes, surprisingly, there was a time when linking your brand so closely that you wanted to rhyme with the Mets and Jets seemed daringly cutting-edge. A few years later, the world The New York set of team tennis followed suit, but they didn’t get smart enough to change their name to “Apples” right away.)
But really…the Nets? Why not rims? Why not sneakers? Why not a headband?
And now why…what about Brooklyn Marks?
That makes sense for three reasons. Sean Marks is the general manager, and although that announcement never made it to my desk, apparently in the last few years he was actually appointed by team owner Joseph Tsai to become boss for life. It seems that he has been appointed. He’s also been allowed to leave some lasting and lasting marks on a series that has always been subject to torture and torment, mostly filled with slapstick and stupidity. And finally, most of these trades revealed the Nets to be easy marks for a smarter front office, a group that includes… well, all of them.
Brooklyn Marks! Hey, if the Cleveland Browns can celebrate 80 years since they were named after someone next year, why can’t Marks? Sure, Paul Brown was actually good at his job and popular locally, but even he was actually eventually fired from the team that bore his name.
It’s hard to see what Sean Marks would have to do to get fired in Brooklyn. He enjoys more job security than Queen Elizabeth (who served as Chief Justice of the United Kingdom for some 72 years) or William O. Douglas (who made the most of his lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court for 36 years and seven months). expensive. Combined. The Brooklyn Bridge has been a part of Brooklyn’s skyline since his 1883. It is an urban legend that Marks had to overcome horse-drawn carriage traffic to get to his inaugural press conference on time that day.
On Monday, Marks fired Jacque Vaughn. Let’s start with this. Vaughn is a good guy and a good basketball coach, but firing him is not inexcusable. He’s a great guy, but if Vaughn had been allowed to stay, he would have had to start his 97-win steak Thursday night against Toronto to reach .500 in his career. .
But if Vaughn had to go, Marks should have been the driver to take them both to the Nets’ waterfront home base. Bourne joins Kenny Atkinson and Steve Nash as coaches that Marks was allowed to hire, but have now been fired. Since Tsai’s consigliere has not yet been formed, there is a good chance that the last manager, Marks, will be fired.
From the day he was introduced as GM on February 18, 2016, Marks fancied himself as the crown prince of culture. Mikhail Prokhorov hired him, but it was Tsai who encouraged and enabled him. All about Marks’ ode to culture. Literally, Marks’ first professional words ended with:
“I look forward to the challenge of creating a unified culture and building a winning team.”
And this is the kick. For a while, Marks was not only true to his word, but the idea worked. He hired Kenny Atkinson as coach, drafted Jarrett Allen and assembled a cast that performed well in a win over the 76ers in Game 1 of the 2019 playoffs. Marks and Atkinson were aligned, and what they were building looked very impressive from the outside, which helped lure Kevin Durant.
It was supposed to be a triumphant culmination for Marks, but instead it was the beginning of a steep decline that would not end until he was finally relieved of duty sometime during the 2061 season. Not only did Durant father Kyrie Irving, but Marks coddled him for three years while wandering further and further from the (seemingly flat) planet, it also led to his divorce from Atkinson. Irving begat James Harden, then Ben Simmons.
The past four-and-a-half years have been a flurry of slapstick events, culminating in the Nets resting most of their key players in a game against the Bucks at Barclays Center over Christmas week. . Since then, the Nets are 6-18. Bourne was forced to wear one that night, but if you believe it was Bourne’s idea…well, congratulations, the Williamsburg Bridge will look beautiful in your backyard. Culture, apparently, does not include courage or responsibility in Marks’ strategy.
But then why should you? Everyone should have such a patient boss. Marks has acted for years as if he was begging to be fired. Only Joseph Tsai cannot hear his pleas. So why not go all the way to the end? Consider it over.
Welcome to Brooklyn Marks.
