Brooklyn Nets: Why Sean Marks is the Sharp End of the Stick

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

HEAD COACH KENNY ATKINSON and BROOKLYN NETS 

MUTUALLY AGREE TO PART WAYS

I'm stunned.  Never saw this coming.

Shocked?  Not really.

Make no mistake.  Kenny Atkinson has a fan in me.  Coach was absolutely the right man for the job.  He served the Nets very well, nurturing a rebuilding club and coaching them up into a burgeoning contender.  Last year's playoff appearance has Atkinson's name written all over it.  What transpired along Flatbush Avenue was pure home grown.  And Atkinson was a leading force behind the organization, the fans, and Brooklyn itself, finally solidifying a long term relationship together.  So, yeah, Sean Marks nailed it when he hired Kenny Atkinson.

Sure Coach had some X and O issues, and suffered occasional bouts of game mismanagement.  What coach doesn't.?

Player conspiracy?  You tell me.

However, an analytics driven system predicated on the high screens and pick and roll, over dependence on three-point shooting, and ruinous fourth quarter meltdowns had become all too predictable.

After three seasons of steady improvements, Sean Marks this last off-season upped the ante.  Expectations changed, injuries be damned.  The Nets presently have a precarious hold on seventh place in the conference standings with just 20 games left to play.  Kenny Atkinson indeed helped get the Nets to this point.  But let's be honest, he rarely deviates from the plan.  In the midst of year four, it cost him.  Now Sean Marks wants more.  I believe in his narrative about needing a new voice in the locker room.  In fact, the more I ponder Saturday's action the more I agree with the decision.  Next season the dynamic in the Nets locker room is sure to change.  I view this as Sean Marks jumping in front of the situation.  While the timing seems odd, I applaud his conviction.  Above and beyond the position of head coach, I want the general manager of the organization operating with proactive confidence rather than in some panic riddled reactive manner.

And this is what makes Sean Marks the sharp end of the stick.