VIDEO: Former Chicago Bulls’ coach Tom Thibodeau’s name still a fan favorite to become Nets new head coach

The Brooklyn Nets hired Sean Marks to be its new General Manager replacing Billy King. Already, there are high expectations being placed upon Marks because he comes from one of the NBA’s premier teams, the San Antonio Spurs.

General Manager Marks’ first public move was waiving Nets player Andrea Bargnani. Fans and journalists alike are waiting to see who will be named the Nets new head coach. A number of names are under discussion by fans, but one that keeps surfacing is former Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau.

VIDEO: Plus Joe Johnson Waived by Brooklyn Nets and Picked up by Miami; Cespedes bringing fun and games to Mets training camp

In this episode of What's The 411Sports, hosts Keisha Wilson and Mike McDonald are talking about:

• Stephen Curry and his haters
• Tom Brady wants to play until he is 45
• Erin Andrews lawsuit against a hotel where she was videotaped naked without her permission
• LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love locker room battles
• Tony Romo contemplating collarbone surgery
• Yoenis Cespedes riding to work in fancy cars and on a horse has the media talking
• Brooklyn Nets plans to lower ticket prices for the 2016-17 season
• Sean Marks, General Manager, Brooklyn Nets, waives Joe Johnson and Johnson picked up by the Miami Heat
• Grayson Allen is on the bench

Kilpatrick is D-League's top scorer

With Andrea Bargnani and Joe Johnson waived, the Brooklyn Nets went shopping and picked up a D-League player.

The Brooklyn Nets have signed guard Sean Kilpatrick to a 10-day contract, General Manager Sean Marks announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.

Kilpatrick (6’4”, 219) joins the Nets from the NBA Development League’s Delaware 87ers, where he has appeared in 28 games this season, averaging a league-high 26.4 points per game on 47.2 percent from the field and 42.6 percent from three-point range, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 38.4 minutes per game en route to D-League All-Star honors. He has also appeared in eight games with the Denver Nuggets this season, averaging 3.4 points in 10.3 minutes per game, and spent the 2015 preseason with the New Orleans Pelicans. In 2014-15, Kilpatrick appeared in four games with the Minnesota Timberwolves, averaging 5.5 points in 18.0 minutes per game. He also played in 44 D-League contests split between Delaware and the Santa Cruz Warriors. Kilpatrick spent the 2014 preseason with the Golden State Warriors before being waived prior to the start of the 2014-15 regular season.

The 26-year-old Yonkers, N.Y. native went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft after a standout four-year collegiate career at the University of Cincinnati. Kilpatrick earned consensus second-team All-American honors after averaging 20.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals in 33.8 minutes per game.

After months of speculation that the Brooklyn Nets may trade Joe Johnson to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the rumor mill can relax now because the Nets have requested waivers on Johnson, General Manager Sean Marks announced today.

"The Nets want to thank Joe for his many contributions to the team and the organization," said Marks. "Joe has been a quality professional since joining the Nets four years ago, was a valued member of three playoff teams, and provided many thrilling moments for his teammates and Nets' fans. We wish him much success in the future."

In three and a half seasons with Brooklyn, Johnson played in 288 games for the Nets, with averages of 14.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. The seven-time NBA All-Star is a veteran of 15 NBA seasons, having played with Boston, Phoenix and Atlanta, prior to his stint in Brooklyn. He holds career NBA averages of 17.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.

The Nets roster now stands at 13 players.

In his first publicly announced act involving a player, on behalf of the Brooklyn Nets, General Manager Sean Marks requested waivers on Andrea Bargnani.

Bargnani, who signed with the Nets on July 17, 2015, appeared in 46 games for Brooklyn, with averages of 6.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game.

The Nets roster now stands at 14 players.

What a difference a day makes. At the opening of the Brooklyn Nets HSS Training Facility, yesterday, there were reports that San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Sean Marks had turned down the Brooklyn Nets offer to serve as general manager for the team. Today, Mikhail Prokhorov, owner of the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center made the announcement that he got his man. Sean Marks is now the general manager of the Brooklyn Nets.

“After an exhaustive vetting process, we are delighted to have Sean as our General Manager,” Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said. “His experience on the court, in coaching and management gives him a 360-degree view of the job at hand. His background helping to build one of the greatest teams in the NBA gives him an unparalleled frame of reference. And he impressed us all with his vision, his values, his personality and his enthusiasm for the club. The vote to select him from an incredible list of talent was unanimous. We welcome Sean into our Nets family and look forward to his strong leadership and independent thinking as we build our own success story.”

“I am very excited to be named the General Manager of the Brooklyn Nets, and to become a member of the vibrant and dynamic organization that represents Brooklyn,” Marks said. "I would like to thank Nets’ ownership for giving me this opportunity, and I look forward to the challenge of creating a unified culture and building a winning team."

Marks joins the Nets after spending the past five years with the San Antonio Spurs, including the last two seasons as the team’s assistant general manager. Prior to serving as assistant general manager, Marks spent one season as an assistant coach on the Spurs’ 2014 NBA Championship team, one season as the team’s director of basketball operations and general manager of the Spurs’ NBA Development League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, and one season as a basketball operations assistant.

A veteran of 12 NBA seasons, Marks was originally selected with the 44th pick in the second round of the 1998 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. Over the course of his playing career, he suited up for six different franchises, including the Toronto Raptors (1998-00), Miami Heat (2001-03), Phoenix Suns (2006-08), New Orleans Hornets (2008-10) and Portland Trail Blazers (2010-11). He also spent two seasons with the Spurs (2004-06) and was a member of the 2005 NBA Championship team.

Prior to embarking on his NBA career, Marks spent played four seasons at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as a captain during his senior season (1997-98). He earned his degree in political science from the school in 1998.

Marks is a native of Auckland, New Zealand, representing the country in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. He was also a part of the team that finished fourth at the 2002 FIBA World Championship.

Sean Marks starts off his tenure as Nets GM with a win

Friday marked the first Nets game since the announcement of former San Antonio Spurs assistant general manager Sean Marks as the Nets new general manager. The announcement was made one day prior marking the end of a search that began with the reassignment of Billy King on January 10th. The Brooklyn Nets faced their cross-town rivals in the New York Knicks who experienced their own personnel change with the firing of former head coach Derek Fisher earlier this month.

The Nets are looking to rebound from a 109-90 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies prior to the All-Star break while the Knicks try to end a six-game losing streak. Even though times have been difficult for the Nets, one of the players who has kept the team competitive has been Brook Lopez. The center has improved in most aspects of his game with his numbers improving from last season.

The Knicks jumped to a nine-point lead in the first quarter shooting 59% from the field, with Carmelo Anthony leading the way with 11 points in 12 minutes of play. The Nets forced ten Knicks turnovers and outscored the Knicks in the paint to close the gap to two points at the half.

Early in the third quarter, the Knicks extended their lead to five however it would be short lived as the Nets went on a 20-2 run taking the lead 74-61. The Nets run was aided by converting Knicks turnovers into points. Brooklyn has struggled on the defensive side of the ball of late and saw their lead dwindle to three in the fourth quarter. The Nets showed resiliency and fight as they went on a 16-2 run to win their first game after the NBA All-Star break and their first under new GM Sean Marks.

In the 109-98 win over the New York Knicks, Lopez led all scorers with 33 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Bojan Bogdanovic knocked down four three-pointers and scored 16 just in time points off the bench.

Thaddeus Young chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds, Donald Sloan 14 points and 10 rebounds and Joe Johnson added 12 points, six assists and six rebounds.

For team blue and orange, Carmelo Anthony led with 22 points, while rookie stand-out Kristaps Porzingis chipped in 16 points.

VIDEO: Manny Pacquiao loses Nike endorsement and fans; Will Peyton Manning be able to weather his alleged college sexual harassment episode?; Will Sean Marks, the new Brooklyn Nets general manager lure Tom Thibodeau?; Ronda Rousey faces her demons; and more

In this episode of What's The 411Sports, the panel of Keisha Wilson, Bianca Peart and Mike McDonald, are talking about:

• Ronda Rousey's comment about having suicidal thoughts
• Sean Marks, former Assistant Coach, San Antonio Spurs, becomes new General Manager of the Brooklyn Nets

Sean Marks, Brooklyn Nets General Manager

• Peyton Manning's checkered past: what’s in the future for Manning given the sexual harassment allegations against him stemming from University of Tennessee
• Jenrry Mejia gets lifetime ban from Major League Baseball
• Brooklyn Nets new training facility

Brooklyn Nets new Training Facility. Photo Credit: Kathleen Malone Van-Dyke

• Outlook for Brooklyn Nets west coast swing not looking good, but the team’s two standouts continue to be Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young
• New York Knicks interim head coach Kurt Rambis’ Twitter account gets hacked
• Professional boxer and Floyd Mayweather nemesis, Manny Pacquiao, gets dropped by Nike after his disdainful homophobic comments

Edited by: Ruth J. Morrison