The Brooklyn Nets were favored by some sportsbooks as recently as last week to win the NBA Championship, but their season came to a bitter end on Saturday with an OT loss to the Bucks in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Despite a slew of injuries that limited the Big 3 to barely a dozen games together out of nearly 80 possible contests, Brooklyn seemed primed to move on after winning Game 5 – but after two straight losses, their season ended late Saturday night on their home floor.
So is this season a failure? Not if you ask GM Sean Marks.
"I don't look at it as a failure. I think the term failure can be used in a completely different array of circumstances, far more serious than what we just went through," Marks said in his end-of-season media session Monday. "Was it a disappointment? Yes, but we own it; we did not achieve our goals, but we will grow from it and we'll be better because of this. We'll progress through this and learn from the roller coaster ride. I think we all grew as a collective unit here. Injuries are a part of sports, so I don't ever want to use that as an excuse. Could we have done a better job in some areas? Potentially, yeah. But until we debrief and sit down, and really focus on those, we're not totally going to know."
Now, however, the focus turns to the offseason, which is apparently going to start with Kevin Durant and James Harden playing for Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics next month – a move the GM and former New Zealand National Tea member noted he was okay with by saying "it's very difficult to turn down playing for your country."
Actually, it might start as early as Tuesday morning, when the Nets find out whether or not Spencer Dinwiddie has opted out of the player option for 2021-22, and whether or not the team is on the hook for nearly $13 million for Dinwiddie. Marks said Monday that basically, the team will worry about that once they get official word, but are hopeful that Dinwiddie will remain in Brooklyn.
"We'll deal with Spencer when the time comes and Spencer has obviously put himself in a position to secure his future long-term. We'd obviously love to play a role in that whether it's here or whether we can help him. We'll focus on that at a later date," the GM said.
What about the rest of the team around Scary Hours, though? Marks pushed his chips into the table to assemble the team that they hoped would end in a parade, but if Dinwiddie opts out, the Nets have just five players under iron-clad contract for 2021-22 beyond that Big 3.
"To me, that's a great opportunity for Steve and I and our collective staffs to sit down and go, 'What's going to be our identity moving forward? Who's going to be a part of that? Where are some of the deficiencies we want to try to make up?' Marks said. "And then, there's some areas we're pretty elite at. So how do we continue to grow them without taking a back seat in other areas?"
One of those under contract is Joe Harris, who was a building block before the Big 3 era but was much-maligned in the Bucks series, seemingly failing to live up to his new $75 million deal in some eyes by shooting just 33 percent from beyond the arc in those seven games after leading the league with a 47.5 three-point percentage during the regular season.
"I think we have to be careful with, 'What have you done for me lately?' Marks said bluntly when asked about Harris' future. "Joe has been a stronghold here for the entire time I've been here. I've watched him grow; I've watched him develop. He's a huge part of this culture."
Oh, and then there's the big elephant: all three of Durant, Harden, and Kyrie Irving hold player options for 2022-23, meaning that the window for a Nets title in this era could be slammed shut come this time next year, one more campaign left to get a ring instead of two.
But like Dinwiddie's decision, that's a bridge Marks will cross when he gets there.
"It's probably too early to start discussing what their futures are. Obviously, we're committed to them. I think they play a big role in how we're going to continue to build this, how we're going to drive our culture and the identity of our team. I think what you see out there is when they're healthy, that's a very, very elite unit," Marks said. "I don't see any shortage of people wanting to play with, people wanting to play alongside them, or them wanting to be a part of something here. Now it's going to be up to us to continue to make Brooklyn an environment where not only do they want to re-sign, but free agents want to return to us."
For now, it will be time, once the NBA season ends late next month, to find that group and look ahead to trying again in 2021-22.
"We'll look at every position on the roster, and inevitably there will be changes – but you don't want to make rash decisions. Let's let the dust settle, not let emotion get in the way, and we'll have those honest conversations," Marks said. "I don't think that happens overnight. I think it's the course of several weeks, a month of work. "I'll be honest, I'm extremely excited about where this could go, and where we honestly envision this going."
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