The New York Knicks have been criticized heavily in recent years, and rightfully so (hello James Dolan), but based on what Brooklyn Nets GM Sean Marks had to say in his press conference on Wednesday, the Knicks seem to be on a better path.
That might be hard to believe, especially since the Nets signed both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the summer of 2019. It seemed like Brooklyn was the place to be, but the organization has run into a wall.
How funny. KD and Irving teamed up to win a ring together, but that’s yet to happen over the course of the past three seasons. Durant signed a four-year, $198 million ahead of the 2021-22 season, but Irving’s future is still up in the air.
In Marks’ presser, he was of course asked about Irving possibly signing an extension with the team, but this quote from him is quite telling.
Marks: “We need people here that want to be here, they’re selfless, that want to be part of something bigger than themselves. And there’s an objective and there’s a goal at stake here. And in order to do that, we’re going to need availability from everybody.”
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) May 11, 2022
The Brooklyn Nets are making the New York Knicks look better by the day.
Initially, it seemed like the Knicks would be the ones to sign both Durant and Irving. While signing KD would’ve been beneficial, New York probably dodged a bullet by avoiding Irving. His skills on the court are undeniable, but his unavailability this past season hurt the Nets.
Sean Marks says there’s been too much focus on distractions off the court and that the Nets want to get back to the culture that got them here.
— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) May 11, 2022
Irving’s said that he wants to stay with Durant in Brooklyn, but if he doesn’t opt into his player option and refuses to sign an extension with the Nets, he’ll become a free agent. There isn’t a reason to believe that he’ll do that, but to sign a max extension, he’ll have to be offered one.
While the Knicks are thinking about what to do in the point guard market and awaiting the NBA Draft Lottery, Brooklyn’s front office is having to sort through a mess. The Nets were expecting to still be in the playoffs right now, but instead, they were unable to win a single postseason game.
It should be viewed as a good thing that Marks held an end of the year press conference while Leon Rose hasn’t made himself available to the media since the beginning of the season, but Brooklyn has more questions than answers at the moment.
Then again, some fans don’t care about Rose making himself available to answer questions.
If you felt Leon Rose had an obligation to speak to the media, that's fine. I care much more about his actions moving forward than his words.
— Jeremy Cohen (@TheCohencidence) May 11, 2022
Because looking at the quotes flying around from the Sean Marks presser, sometimes speaking less truly is more
This isn’t to say that New York doesn’t have its own troubles, because Knicks fans know that isn’t the case, but unlike the Nets, New York can build itself from the ground up. Look no further than the team’s draft picks over the past few years for reference.
Brooklyn isn’t looking like the popular destination that the front office over there thought that it would be. What a shame.
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