Nets GM on player opt-outs: 'We have to bring a team to Orlando'

The Brooklyn Nets won't have anything resembling a full squad when they travel to the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex on or around July 7 for the 22-team format to crown an NBA champion that begins on July 30.

That's not stopping Nets general manager Sean Marks from keeping his focus on the task at hand.

As ESPN's Malika Andrews wrote, Marks spoke with reporters two days after guard Spencer Dinwiddie and center DeAndre Jordan both announced positive coronavirus test results.

"We have a job to do," Marks said. "We have to bring a team to Orlando. We will bring a team to Orlando. We will go down there, and we will compete. That's our jobs here."

Jordan won't join teammates in Florida, but Marks reiterated that Dinwiddie's status remains unknown and "up in the air."

"Look, I would hope these guys decide to go, but again, I hope they decide what's best for them and their health and family," Marks added. "So if they decide to go to Orlando, we know we will be taking the best care possible of them."

Superstars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant were never realistically part of Brooklyn's summer plans. Irving is recovering from a shoulder operation he underwent in March, while Durant hasn't played since he suffered a ruptured right Achilles tendon during the 2019 NBA Finals.

Forward Wilson Chandler opted out for family reasons. Fellow forward Nicolas Claxton underwent shoulder surgery on June 24.  

Marks said on Wednesday he has "no reason to believe at this point" any other players will elect to sit the season's resumption out.