Sean Marks is headed toward running a team quickly. (USATSI)
Sean Marks is headed toward running a team quickly. (USATSI)

It's only a matter of time until former NBA player Sean Marks is running a team or at least that's how it seems after his quick ascension through the San Antonio Spurs organization. The 12-year veteran big man has spent the last three years with the Spurs moving from a basketball operations assistant to the director of basketball operations to spending the 2013-14 season as an assistant coach on the sidelines. He's learned quickly under coach Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford to the point that he's receiving another promotion from the Spurs.

The team announced on Tuesday Marks will now be the assistant general manager, working directly next to general manager R.C. Buford. The move back to the front office is a fortuitous one for Marks as it has been a position over the years that has led to the opportunity of running your own basketball front office. From the Spurs: 

The San Antonio Spurs today announced multiple promotions and additions to the basketball operations staff. Sean Marks returns to the front office as an assistant general manager and Brandon James has been promoted to director of basketball administration and legal affairs. Phil Coles has been hired as director of medical services and Marilyn Adams as director of rehabilitation. In addition, Xavi Schelling joins the Spurs as applied sports scientist and Paul West has been named assistant athletic trainer.

Marks makes the move back to the front office after spending last season on the Spurs bench as an assistant coach. The Auckland, New Zealand native completed a 12-year NBA career before joining the Silver and Black in 2011 as a basketball operations assistant. He was then promoted to director of basketball operations in September of 2012 before moving to the sidelines for the 2013-14 season.

For nearly a decade, Popovich was the general manager and the coach of the team before moving the general manager duties to Buford. Popovich was given the title of president of Spurs basketball as he and Buford helped shape one of the best basketball cultures in league history. Now Marks gets to learn from two of the best on a much closer level. It could lead to him branching out to another team like we've seen with Sam Presti of the Oklahoma City Thunder or other executives around the league.

Marks was the 44th pick by the New York Knicks in the 1998 draft and made his NBA debut for the Toronto Raptors in 1999. He played for six different teams during his career, including the Spurs from 2004 to 2006. He finished his career with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2011 before jumping to the Spurs' basketball operations.