Sean Marks is excited at the chance to build up an NBA franchise from "ground zero".
The former Tall Black was announced as the Brooklyn Nets new general manager last week, taking what is widely considered one of the toughest jobs in the league.
It's a big change of scenery for Marks, who joins the Nets from the San Antonio Spurs front office, a team that won an NBA Championship when he was an assistant coach.
The Nets, 15-42, find themselves in a tough spot with no first round draft pick this year or in 2018 (in 2017, the Boston Celtics have the option to swap picks with the Nets).
Marks, who was a guest on NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski's podcast on Yahoo Sports, laughed off the fact he didn't have to chance to rebuild through the draft and talked about the excitement in starting from scratch.
"The people that we bring in here have to be open minded in that regard. I hope to bring in staff, not only a front office staff but a coaching staff, that are all on the same page together," Marks said.
"This is an exciting opportunity, we're starting from ground zero. We get to build something and the people are going to be the ones driving that culture."
Marks in action for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2010 (Getty Images)
Mark spent 12 seasons in the NBA with a variety of teams and believes his role as a people person will help him in Brooklyn.
"Everybody has their role, everybody has a little niche. I knew what my role was. I could have gone to Europe on several different occasions and made a lot more money instead of sitting here on the minimum in the NBA, but it came to a point where I said 'I really like this, I'm a part of something special'.
"I guess one of my attributes would be I am a people person, I want communication. I don't think you have to get along all the time, I don't mind disagreement. If everyone is a yes man, that doesn't work either.
"I think you've got to figure out your staff and what makes them tick. You've got to know how many kids they have, you got to know what they like to do for a living, and that was a great attribute I've learned on several teams.
"That's obviously helped me through my career just wanting to get in and know what made Tim Duncan tick, or get to know Steve Nash, I've got to play with some of the greatest players ever.
"I hope to take a little bit away from all those guys and bring it [to Brooklyn]."
Marks said he never "had a spark" for rugby, despite growing up in New Zealand and being built for the oval sport, but said he still follows the game and would love to implement the All Blacks culture and system in Brooklyn.
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