Should the Nets fanbase remain confident in the front office?

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The Brooklyn Nets are heading into one of the biggest offseasons in franchise history as they have the chance to draft their next superstar if the NBA Lottery goes their way. After the Big 3 ended for good with the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn decided to go all-in with this current rebuild despite being in a good position to try to remain in the playoff picture.

One of the biggest topics amongst the Nets fanbase has been whether general Sean Marks is the right person to lead the organization through its next rebuild. On one hand, Marks was the one that led the franchise from being a bad team without any draft picks to build with to a team that once upon a time fielded Durant, Irving, and James Harden on the way to potentially winning an NBA title.

On the other hand, Marks was also the guy in charge of the front office when the three superstars requested trades with the trio having some kind of issue with the direction that the franchise was heading in, especially once Harden was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. While the Nets were still considered a championship contender with Durant, Irving, and Ben Simmons as the Big 3, that trio didn't work out as the franchise made it out of the first round of the playoffs just once.

Once Durant and Irving were traded away from Brooklyn during the 2022-23 season, the Nets tried to keep the winning going with a roster led by Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and Nic Claxton. That group was able to keep the team afloat enough to make it into the postseason before losing to Harden and the 76ers in a sweep that was rough to watch.

With Brooklyn going just 32-50 the following season, Marks decided to trade Bridges to the New York Knicks for a haul of first-round picks that allowed them multiple bites at the Draft apple with the hope of selecting their star player. While many applauded the move by Marks, the 2024-25 season saw the team finish with a 26-56 record despite the fact that losing was in the franchise's best interests, especially with Duke forward Cooper Flagg projected to be the prize of the 2025 NBA Draft class.

Most expected the Nets trade away the rest of the veterans on the team like Johnson, Dennis Schroder, and Dorian Finney-Smith so that the team wouldn't have enough talent to win more games than some of the other teams rebuilding through the Draft. In the end, Brooklyn finished the campaign with the sixth-best Lottery odds, meaning that they have a 9.0% chance of getting the first overall pick and a 37.2% chance of getting a top-four pick.

Some fans have criticized Marks for not leaning into the rebuild enough to ensure losses, something that fans across the league witnessed from franchises like the Toronto Raptors and Utah Jazz, the latter of which being fined for how committed they were to their tanking. Some have applauded Marks for still keeping some of the veterans around as that helped young players like Keon Johnson and Trendon Watford to have the best season of their respective careers.

Marks has been the teams general manager since 2016 and the Nets have made the playoffs in five of those 10 seasons, showing that owner Joe Tsai has more confidence in Marks than most teams have in their general managers given the short shelf life for guys leading losing teams. With there still being some uncertainty about which way Marks and company will go this summer, this could be the last chance he has to prove himself to Tsai.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Should the Nets fanbase remain confident in the front office?

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