New GM Sean Marks ready for challenge of rebuilding Nets

NEW YORK (AP) Sean Marks agreed to become the Brooklyn Nets general manager on the eve of the trade deadline, while he was working for the San Antonio Spurs.

''They quickly kicked me out of the room,'' he said.

Now Marks will try to use what he learned there to build a winner in Brooklyn.

A day after accepting his new job, Marks said he is aware of the Nets' challenges but is ready to face them after learning under Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford with the Spurs.

''To be honest, it's time for me to see if I can do this,'' Marks said, ''and it's not on my own.''

The New Zealand native hopes to hire a coach and expand the Nets' staff in the next few months. He played for the Spurs under Popovich and had most recently been their assistant general manager under Buford, and the way they run one of the most successful organizations in sports can be a model for the struggling Nets.

''The relationship that Pop and R.C. had together, nothing was done without the other not knowing,'' Marks said. ''So that's important. It's inclusive, it's a partnership. That's what I'll be looking for not only in a head coach, but the relationship that I have with ownership and the relationship that I have with all my staff.''

Nets chairman of the board Dmitry Razumov said Marks was chosen to replace Billy King from a field of eight candidates that he called ''the best of the best.'' King was reassigned within the organization when coach Lionel Hollins was fired on Jan. 10. Tony Brown is expected to remain interim coach for the remainder of the season, and Razumov said Marks will lead the search for a replacement with input from the search group.

The Nets entered their game against the Knicks at 14-40 and face a potentially slow rebuild. They have already traded away their 2016 and 2018 first-round picks and may have to swap it in 2017. But Marks said they have the ability to strengthen the roster through free agency and alluded to the possibility of trying to acquire a pick.

He said he will begin evaluating the organization immediately, insisting it's not a lost season even with the Nets' woeful record.

''I'm realistic about the goals and the challenges that are ahead of me for sure, that goes without saying,'' he said. ''But again, I'm in a great environment with a great group of people.''