r/GoNets • u/Own-Fondant2949 • 13d ago
Culture Question: How much did BLM and COVID shape Sean Marks’s ability to manage the Big 3 Nets era?
I’ve been thinking about the Big 3 era less from a pure basketball perspective and more from a culture/timing perspective.
Not trying to turn this into a political debate, but how much did the BLM/COVID era impact Sean Marks’s ability to actually manage that roster?
You had COVID restrictions, NYC vaccine mandates, empty arenas, constant schedule disruptions, and what was probably the peak of the player empowerment era all happening at the same time. Kyrie stopped being just a basketball story and became a anti-vax icon and political story, KD publicly backed Kyrie, Harden wanted out almost immediately, and every decision the organization made felt like it became bigger than basketball.
Looking back, it almost feels like Marks was trying to manage a superteam during one of the most socially and culturally volatile periods the NBA has gone through in recent memory.
Obviously the basketball side still mattered. Injuries killed them, the roster had flaws, Nash wasn’t ready, and the Simmons trade ended up being a fucking disaster. But I also think people underestimate how difficult it is to establish accountability, structure, and team culture when the outside environment is that chaotic and every internal issue immediately becomes national discourse.
I honestly wonder if this same core dropped into a more normal NBA era ends up looking completely different... or not because KD, Kyrie and Harden are still locker room divas that are exceptionally talented.
Edit: My bad for conflating the BLM movement with the shut up and dribble / black player empowerment movement.
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u/ConsiderationBig5728 13d ago
BLM 0 impact. Covid and Kyrie ruined it.
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u/Scared-Square7496 13d ago
Yeah I appreciate for some it was all a blur but the Black Lives Matter movement had zero to do with the Nets issues at that time.
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u/matt_kiss CUSTOM FLAIR (Follow Rules) 13d ago
I disagree, Kyrie’s first instance of defiance was during the bubble in 2020 when he tried to a host a town hall during the blm riots to try and get the NBA bubble shut down to focus on social justice. Refusing to play in the playoffs then trying to drum up support to shut down the whole league is the first domino i can think of that may have rubbed people in the front office the wrong way. Not saying Kyrie is wrong but I do remember people raising an eyebrow to it.
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u/OMJuwara Vince Carter 13d ago
It wasn’t BLM riots, it was after the Jan 6 insurrection attempt
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u/matt_kiss CUSTOM FLAIR (Follow Rules) 13d ago
that was in 2021, you can google kyrie in 2020 its pretty well documented
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u/OMJuwara Vince Carter 13d ago
When Irving went AWOL it was following what happened on Jan 6. BLM protests happened while the bubble was getting started up in 2020. Irving taking leave without notice led to the Harden trade
EDIT: I CAN’T READ LOL. Carry on 😅
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u/Translator_Asleep 12d ago
Kyrie wanted to stay but front office are filled with incompetent ppl with no direction. Sean can go. They also tried to smear Kyries name by making it seem like he was anti whatever tf bringing politics in
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u/zestysnacks 13d ago
Tbh I think the vaccine was just one of many kyrie shenanigans. If it wasn’t that, it was something else. Before that whole drama, there were those weeks where he was completely away from the team with no explanation. He didn’t like that they had Nash as a coach or being coached even
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u/sunra2016 Ian Eagle 13d ago
I remember he was on a zoom call for some sort of council meeting while the Nets were literally in the middle of a game.
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u/TheMoorNextDoor “Shut Up, B!tch - Cam Thomas” 13d ago edited 13d ago
What the fuck does BLM have to do with it?
I’m looking at you sideways OP.
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u/Own-Fondant2949 12d ago
My bad for conflating the BLM movement with the shut up and dribble / black player empowerment movement.
FWIW.. I'm brown and worked at in corporate america during this time and the majority of my bosses were white and they collectively struggled to navigate (aka used kids gloves) when it came to disciplining me or my minority colleagues compared to a few years prior when we would typically have to go above and beyond to get ahead. While most of us were ok with wanting the system to be equal it did feel like the pendulum swung too far especially when there were a bunch of under performers who loved to push boundaries and kinda f it up for the rest of us.
u/TheMoorNextDoor I asked a question, created a dialog, and learned. Look at me sideways all you want.. I won because I learned something new!
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u/AdventurousGur9379 13d ago
BLM had literally nothing to do with it. Please don't give ammo to the ones who believe Marks stans are actually racist.
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u/mylowerbackhurts The Wolf of Flatbush 13d ago
Covid regulations had an effect, but the what-if was kyrie getting injured in the bucks series. That was the year to win it all
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u/Chapea12 13d ago
If Kyrie didn’t come back fired up after 2021, then we never had a chance regardless. He would have found something to complain about. With Kyrie we had more pro-Kyrie protests outside the stadium than playoff series wins
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u/klugamania1021 13d ago
Never forget that the second the Mets and Yankees sniffed around the vaccine mandate, it was immediately lifted.
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u/theRestisConfettii Full-Throttle Traoré 13d ago
BLM and COVID era
Which one of ya’all made this a thing?
This had no impact.
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are two of the biggest bitches in the league.
James Harden is the biggest quitter in the league.
In retrospect, it was never going to work. But, hindsight is 20/20.
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u/Level-Comfort5484 13d ago
Mayor Adam’s and Joe tsai ego killed the nets. Like kyrie really fucked everyone when he started insulting Jews on top of it all but it starts with mayor Adams.
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u/_SCARY_HOURS_ 13d ago
I could be misremembering this his but I think he just posted a documentary going over real life history. History shouldn’t be insulting, it should be learned from
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u/GiantTacoSalad 13d ago
That wasn't a documentary man.
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u/_SCARY_HOURS_ 12d ago
I def misremembered it then. I didn’t watch whatever he posted i don’t remember what it was then
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u/_SCARY_HOURS_ 13d ago
BLM had 0 impact. Covid was impossible to manage since the city of New York screwed us over big time.
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u/MrRaspberryJam1 13d ago
Absolutely. That chaotic environment kinda reminds me of the Mets since Steve Cohen has bought the team.
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u/jeremysesame 13d ago
All 3 ruined their legacy.
Harden got poisened by outside influences aka Daryl Morey, and quit on the team. He also a fulltime wannabe rapper and part time basketball player.
Kyrie, a player in his prime, was at the peak of his insanity.
KD, post achilles, was just not the same. He was still really good but not good enough to carry the team on his own. He is also a whiny and entitled millenial.
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u/Workingorlurking 13d ago
Agreed on all but KD.
KD had his best TS% with the nets, mostly carrying the team on his own. He carried to one of the most exciting game 7s of the decade.
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u/NewJerseySwampDragon Jason Kidd 13d ago
Stop looking for excuses for Sean Marks piss poor management during the Big 3 era. Steve Nash was a trash pick for HC, trading Harden for Simmons was a terrible move… but also Fuck Mayor Adams for his bullshit role in the drama.
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u/RustyWheel17 13d ago
Steve Nash was hand picked by KD due to their relationship prior. Harden had to be traded to PHI because that’s where he said he wanted to be traded to. The options in his deal made him a rental for any team trading for him, which gave him the leverage to go wherever he wanted.
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u/NewJerseySwampDragon Jason Kidd 13d ago
And letting KD (someone who has never been a leader) handpick the coach falls on the GM. Harden didn’t have to be traded for Ben Simmons who couldn’t pass a physical, again thats given Marks a total pass.
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u/TheRealCheddarBob 12d ago
If you’re acknowledging the mayor is responsible then you can’t complain when fans naturally observe that as a reason why our team failed. It’s not an excuse, it’s just what happened
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u/WaterIll4397 13d ago
COVID and Kyrie is indisputable he refused to follow the NY area laws so couldn't play (even if Kyrie was technically right in the end around heighten myocardial health risks of COVID vaccine to young male healthy folks vs not taking vaccine). I'm not pro BLM but I think it's mostly unrelated.
Like it's not like the nets were oppressing black basketball players more than White or Hispanic ones or Jeremy Lin... The Atkinson era locker room culture was pretty good. Unlike say what happened to Sarver.
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u/Joserlifts 13d ago
COVID obviously but it was also a complete organizational failure from the owner to the stars.
Sean Marks - signed, sealed, delivered quote showed he had no idea what those guys were thinking and completely misread the situation. Horrible coaching hires alone should have gotten him canned. Awful roster construction around the stars, too.
Harden always had one foot out the door. He made Tsai and Marks trade a kings ransom for him but was always going to leave for Philly - it’s obvious now - even if they won a title.
Tsai reportedly had to be talked into tanking? But before he gave numerous quotes about wanting to build the right away and didn’t care about losing. So what was that - posturing? Doesn’t matter. Guy cares more about his volleyball team or whatever than the Nets.
Kyrie was Kyrie enough said.
KD - great player. Not a leader.
All of these guys were to blame. Not one leader among them.
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u/Kwilly462 13d ago
I still think a documentary needs to be made on this era.