A year ago Sean Marks likely imagined spending this Fourth of July weekend basking in Brooklyn’s success, reveling in whatever achievements—Finals appearance, championship, whatever—his superstar-stocked team reached. The ’21–22 season was supposed to be the culmination of a three-year journey, a dream realized. Instead, it has devolved into a nightmare.
The Nets are publicly unraveling. Kevin Durant has asked for a trade. Kyrie Irving opted in to his contract, largely because the desperate Lakers were the only team interested in doing a sign-and-trade for him. Last summer, Marks confidently declared that contract extensions for Irving and James Harden would be done before the beginning of training camp. “Signed, sealed and delivered,” Marks said. Today Harden is gone, while Durant and Irving could be next out the door.
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