Nets general manager Sean Marks and coach Kenny Atkinson – both rookies at their jobs – have arrived in Brooklyn talking about culture and process and building. They have to sell those things because, frankly, the record is going to be bad. The question is degree: Bad, or historically bad?
With former GM Billy King’s ill-advised trades leaving the future mortgaged and the cupboard bare, everybody, from the media to Las Vegas oddsmakers to NBA brass, is calling the Nets the worst team in the league. But even as they slog through losses, they need to show progress this season, which tips off Wednesday in Boston.