Nets' Sean Marks, Steve Nash takeaways from end of season news conference, including free agency plans

The Nets didn't finish this season the way they wanted, as championship aspirations fell short in the second round against the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7 on Saturday night. 

As such, GM Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash are forced to look ahead to what will be an important offseason for the future of the franchise. 

Here's what both heads of the Nets discussed during their end of season news conference on Monday afternoon:

Not viewing season as a failure

MARKS: “I don’t look at it as a failure. I think the term failure can be used in a completely different array of circumstances, far more serious than what we just went through. Was it a disappointment? Yes. We’re going to own it, grow from it and we’ll be better because of this. We’ll progress through this and learn from the roller coaster ride which was last season.

“I think we all grew as a unit and individuals and as a collective unit here.”

Big 3 extensions?

MARKS: “It’s probably too early to start discussing what their futures are. Obviously, we’re committed to them. I think they play a big role in how we’re going to continue to build this, how we’re going to drive our culture and the identity of our team. I think what you see out there is when they’re healthy, that’s a very, very elite unit.

"I don’t see any shortage of people wanting to play with, people wanting to play alongside them, or them wanting to be a part of something here. Now it’s going to be up to us to continue to make Brooklyn an environment where not only do they want to re-sign, but free agents want to return to us.”

Focused on team's identity when making offseason moves

MARKS: "To me, that’s a great opportunity for Steve and I and our collective staffs to sit down and go, ‘What’s going to be our identity moving forward? Who’s going to be a part of that? Where are some of the deficiencies we want to try to make up?’ And then there’s some areas we’re pretty elite at. So how do we continue to grow them without taking a back seat in other areas?

“It doesn’t happen over a course of a night.”

What Nash learned in first season

“It was an incredible experience. I had the pleasure of working with some amazing people. The players first and foremost were outstanding with their effort and attitude. The way they worked together to find solutions to all the things we faced this year.”

“What did I learn? What did I take away? A lot of that is going to come over the coming weeks and months where I have time to reflect and study kinda what happened and how I can adjust what I do, but how I can adjust what we do – what our approach is. Collectively, how can we have a stronger imprint on our identity? It’s exciting to look at the opportunity to grow, to learn, to take all the things that I just experienced for the first time, what we experienced collectively for the first time and kind of moving around, taking different perspectives, meeting up and getting excited how we can relaunch this thing next year.”

Spencer Dinwiddie's situation

“We’ll deal with Spencer when the time comes and Spencer has obviously put himself in a position to secure his future long-term. We’d obviously love to play a role in that whether it’s here or whether we can help him. We’ll focus on that at a later date.”

Not judging Joe Harris on playoff hardships

“I think we have to be careful with, ‘What have you done for me lately?’ Joe has been a stronghold here for the entire time I’ve been here. I’ve watched him grow; I’ve watched him develop. He’s a huge part of this culture.”

Kevin Durant and James Harden Olympic Team additions

Both superstars intend to play for Team USA in the 2020 Toyko Olympics.

Talking about Durant specifically, Marks said this:

“It’s very difficult turning down playing for your country,” said the GM who has played for his home country New Zealand in the past.