Nets complete buyout of Andrea Bargnani

The Brooklyn Nets waived forward/center Andrea Bargnani on Saturday.

In New York, Bargnani failed to achieve the success he had in Toronto, where he spent his first seven seasons, averaging 15.2 points.

The Nets hired their new General Manager, Sean Marks, on Thursday and he met with the media on Friday night ahead of their game with the Knicks.

“It’ll be evaluating the roster, the staff, the needs, finding out what can be put in in the meantime”, he said.

He made the announcement on Twitter, writing: “The Nets and I agreed to part ways this afternoon”.

“To be honest, it’s time for me to see if I can do this”, Marks said, “and it’s not on my own”.

Nets Interim Head Coach Tony Brown, said of early impressions of Marks. Usually, a GM picks the coach whom he or she is comfortable with. You can still get some things out of this year.

Marks added that there are some solid pieces now in place, including talented, young players who just need time to develop. “This is by no means a wasted year”. Fans should not expect other players to be waived at this point, though a buyout could be reached with all-star guard Joe Johnson, which would free him up to join a contending team. In talking about his new team’s inactivity at the trade deadline, Marks said: “Sometimes the best thing you can do is not do anything”.

Marks was the Spurs assistant general manager for the past two seasons. “Whether it’s scouting, front office – we got a D-league team, that staff will have to be built – there will be staff members that’ll be added to this”. They interviewed eight candidates, including the likes of Denver Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas, two-time NBA executive of the year Bryan Colangelo, Houston Rockets executive vice president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas and Brooklyn assistant GM Frank Zanin among others. And Marks said the coaching search is going worldwide.

Marks will be evaluated by his work, but as far as first days go, it is encouraging to at least hear about a vision that is more open-minded than spending your way through your problems, only to create more. The next move that Marks and the Nets will make could be completing a buyout with star guard Joe Johnson. The New Zealand native also played and coached for the Spurs.