National Basketball Association

Brooklyn Nets: New Era Built on Optimism, Hope

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:25 p.m. ET

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May 16, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks and new head coach Kenny Atkinson at HSS Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

The Brooklyn Nets are entering the 2016-17 season with a completely different look. This era with a new coach, management, and players is built on optimism and hope, and fans should be eager to witness significant changes.

The Brooklyn Nets have gone through countless rebuilds in the past few years. Since their move to Brooklyn in 2012, the Nets have gone through five coaches and numerous roster changes. Brook Lopez is the only player remaining from the original 2012-13 squad. Despite all these failed rebuilds, the Sean Marks era is one that fans should look forward to.

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Marks, who replaced Billy King as the Nets’ general manager, comes to Brooklyn with a respectable amount of experience. Brooklyn’s new GM served as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs for three seasons. As someone who learned under Gregg Popovich’s wing, there’s no question that Marks is exactly who Nets’ owner Mikhail Prokhorov needs to turn this franchise around.

Prior to the end of the 2015-16 season, the Nets announced that Kenny Atkinson will become the new head coach. Atkinson spent four years as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks from 2008-2012 and most recently, another four years as an assistant with the Atlanta Hawks. While in New York, Atkinson was credited with helping Jeremy Lin develop into “Linsanity,” and the two will reunite in Brooklyn.

May 16, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks introduces new head coach Kenny Atkinson at HSS Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

A New Identity, Optimism, and Hope

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New coaching and management have given Brooklyn a new identity, and there is reason to believe that there is hope for the future. Even players have spoke out about “It really is an exciting time to be around the team and be following the team, just because everything really is new and we have such a blank, clean slate,” said Nets center Brook Lopez on the new regime.

Like all rebuilding teams, the Nets can only offer fans projected feelings of hope. That’s not to say that Brooklyn won’t do well this season, but their players and fans will depend on this sense of optimism to get through the next couple of seasons. We’ve been reminded of this many times already, but the Nets don’t have a first-round draft pick until 2019. Nets fans will just have to continue being patient, as they have been since the end of the Jason Kidd era.

The Nets’ roster is built for success, and we’ll likely see it soon if the team can develop a newfound chemistry. While Brooklyn will need some time to gel together, there is a lot to look forward to this season.

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