Sean Marks, Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith discuss future of the Brooklyn Nets in Vegas
Photo by Brian Choi/NBAE via Getty Images
During Brooklyn’s second Las Vegas Summer League game, some important faces got to talking on the sidelines. Here’s what they said. The Brooklyn Nets dropped their second game in Vegas on Sunday afternoon, but as usual, the story was hardly about what happened on the floor. Between General Manager Sean Marks joining ESPN’s booth, and talking to supportive (for now) teammates Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith on the sidelines, many words were spilled about the state of the franchise.
All three spoke, as you’d expect, with the calm and restraint of a (winning) politician. Johnson, when asked what Brooklyn’s front office told him about the team in the wake of the Mikal Bridges trade, simply said: “Still trying to figure it out, still trying to figure it out.”
And yeah, the Nets are still trying to figure it out. Namely, how to trade Johnson and Finney-Smith for the best value going forward. When to do it, how to do it, who to do it with. Of course, not the wings nor Marks are gonna come out and say that.
Said Johnson: “I have enough to worry about on my end in trying to just be working on myself, working on my body, working on my game. Just taking that time in the offseason to get my mental right for another season, and then I’ll just let whatever happens, happens ... I think we have pieces. If I’m staying in Brooklyn, then I’m all in, excited to play, excited to grow this group, and that’s where my head’s at right now.”
Said Finney-Smith: “So, I’m human, so I’m going to pay attention [to the rumors] a little bit. But I can say: I’m wherever my feet are at. And so I’m a Brooklyn Net, and that’s why I’m here. I care about these guys.”
Both of them know the deal, though both were playful about the situation. am Johnson joked about receiving an ESPN alert to find out about the Mikal Bridges trade, saying he was “probably one of the last people to know.”
Finney-Smith was actually with Bridges in Dallas when it went down, saying that they continued their planned workouts together anyway: “We went from, ‘What we gonna do next year?’ to ‘We bout to kick y’all ass,’” before jokingly dissing the ‘Nova Knicks...
Dorian Finney-Smith was training with Mikal Bridges when news of the trade broke. He said the vibes of their workouts changed the rest of the week:"We went from, 'What we gonna do next year?’ to ‘We bout to kick y'all ass... We gotta break that Villanova shit up." pic.twitter.com/O1yzQgDgwa— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) July 14, 2024
Across the court, Sean Marks was playing the same game in the ESPN booth, discussing the value of having veterans while entering a rebuild, intimating that they may be around for the long-haul, when all the evidence points to the opposite. Marks also discussed Ben Simmons, though that is its own story, (which we have here).
Talking with Tim Legler, Marks once again thanked Bridges on his way out the door while looking to the future:“When you move somebody like Mikal, those decisions aren’t quite as simple as they maybe appear to be. We thank Mikal for his time here, but this fits us better, our timeline, how we’re gonna build sustainably, keeping a lot of flexibility over these next couple years here.”
And speaking of that flexibility, Marks also praised his superiors when discussing the new CBA, letting people know that the Nets will be willing to spend when the time comes.
“Us not being in the tax this year was by design. We don’t plan on being in there, and we’ll kept that future flexibility and make sure when it’s the right time, we’ve got an ownership group, like Joe, who has shown the capacity to go in and pay tax when we’re competitors, when we’re really gonna contend for a championship. So that in our back pocket is vital too.”
The Brooklyn nets are playing their cards close to their chest, perhaps because there’s no other way to play them at this inflection point for the organization. Johnson and Finney-Smith see the writing on the wall, but ever the professionals that they are, keep it that way. We saw Noah Clowney and others dap out the contingent of Nets on their way out, and there’s nothing to think the love was manufactured.
As for Sean Marks making the rounds, he didn’t present new information, rather signaling to potential suitors that they’re the desperate ones, not he. Though he also kept the positivity train rolling regarding Dariq Whitehead, Brooklyn’s key Summer League player, fighting his way back from three surgeries in two years.
“I feel for the young man. Two years of a couple injuries and some setbacks, but to have him finally healthy and catching his rhythm again...it’s gonna be huge for his development.”
Development is the word of the week, of the year, and of this iteration of Brooklyn basketball. We know that suits Marks’ strengths as a GM, but it means much of this roster is in flux.
And they know it, too.
Dorian Finney-Smith addresses trade rumors, reacts to Nets trading Mikal Bridges - Garrett Septien - SNY
Johnson, Finney-Smith focused on Nets rebuild ($) - Evan Barnes - Newsday
Nets’ Cam Johnson facing strange reality without Mikal Bridges as teammate - Brian Lewis = New York Post
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