In a report from The Athletic's Shams Charania, it states Durant had a meeting with Tsai on Monday where he reiterated his trade request, as well as the bombshell that he will refuse to remain with the team unless Marks and Nash are both fired.
Durant, 33, is about to enter the first year of his four-year, $198million contract extension with the Nets, meaning there is no way for the two-time NBA Finals MVP to literally force his way out. To leave Brooklyn, the team will need to trade him, and there is no guarantee that is in their plans, despite Durant's requests.
In a clear statement of where his loyalty lies, Tsai tweeted: "Our front office and coaching staff have my support. We will make decisions in the best interest of the Brooklyn Nets."
The Athletic's report also revealed the Nets "engaged in conversations with almost every team in the league" after Durant's initial trade request, but no team has been able to meet their asking price, which is said to be one of the biggest in NBA history.
The Boston Celtics, the Toronto Raptors and the Miami Heat are mentioned as the three teams most likely to aggressively pursue a trade, with 25-year-old Celtics wing Jaylen Brown considered the best player being included in negotiations.
The NBA star was suspended indefinitely by the Nets in light of his initial unapologetic response to widespread backlash for allegedly endorsing an antisemitic film.
Irving belatedly issued an apology after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had expressed his disappointment at the lack of one, and the Nets had responded later on Thursday with a press statement confirming the player would be suspended for a minimum of five games with no pay, adding he is "currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets".
Around four hours after that announcement, the seven-time All-Star posted an apology on Instagram: "To all Jewish families and communities that are hurt and affected from my post."
Speaking to reporters about the situation on Friday, Marks said: "I think after anything like this, you would always hope that there's a change in feelings, a change in attitude. And you know, I think per his apology last night, that's a step in the right direction.
"But again, as we've sort of stated, actions speak louder than words and so he's had some time and there'll be some more time to reflect on this.
"The apology is a step in the right direction [but] that's certainly not enough."
In terms of further steps expected of Irving, Marks elaborated: "There is going to be some remedial steps and measures that have been put in place for him to obviously seek some counselling, designated by the team from dealing with some anti-hate and some Jewish leaders within our community.
"He's gonna have to sit down with them, he's gonna have to sit down with the organisation after this and and we'll evaluate and see if this is the right opportunity to bring him back."
When asked if the Nets had considered waiving or releasing Irving, Marks said: "No, not at this particular time."
The 29-year-old remains unvaccinated against coronavirus and is therefore ineligible to play in home games due to New York City mandates.
Under the city restrictions, people in New York must have at least one coronavirus vaccine to enter indoor arenas such as the Nets' Barclays Center home.
Irving – who would not be paid for missed home games – would have been available for most road games, but the Nets have decided to overlook the seven-time All-Star until he is cleared to play every night.
"Given the evolving nature of the situation and after thorough deliberation, we have decided Kyrie Irving will not play or practice with the team until he is eligible to be a full participant," Marks said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Kyrie has made a personal choice, and we respect his individual right to choose. Currently, the choice restricts his ability to be a full-time member of the team, and we will not permit any member of our team to participate with part-time availability.
"It is imperative that we continue to build chemistry as a team and remain true to our long-established values of togetherness and sacrifice.
"Our championship goals for the season have not changed, and to achieve these goals each member of our organisation must pull in the same direction.
"We are excited for the start of the season and look forward to a successful campaign that will make the borough of Brooklyn proud."
Irving has played just 74 regular season games in two years since joining the Nets, missing long stretches due to injury issues and personal reasons.
Last year, on the same team as high-profile team-mates Kevin Durant and James Harden, Irving scored 26.9 points per game. That dropped to 22.7 points in the playoffs as he was again restricted.
The Nets confirmed on Thursday they had completed a blockbuster trade to land eight-time All-Star Harden from the Houston Rockets.
Questions have been asked over whether Durant, Harden and Irving can work together, but Marks is confident.
"These guys have given us the right answers. They've said hey, they want to play together, they can see this fitting," he told a news conference.
"They're at a time in their careers – I don't want to speak for each one of them because I let them have their own their own voice and their narrative around this – but I think they understand that there's without a doubt going to be some nights where one or two need to sacrifice for the other and so forth. But I think they're all looking for a common goal.
"We’re all looking for that common goal, as I've said before, is to be the last team standing. I think when you have a group that is willing to sacrifice, and play hard, play together on the court, and they already have a relationship, a prior relationship to this, so I think that will help."
Harden, Durant and Irving all rank in the top 10 in the NBA in scoring average since the latter's rookie season in 2011-12 (minimum 500 games).
Durant or Harden have won seven of the past 11 NBA scoring titles. No Brooklyn qualifier has ever finished higher than fifth in the league.
Marks said the opportunity to land a player like Harden came at a good time for the Nets.
"The timing was right for us. And fortunately, any time you get an opportunity to acquire or try to acquire a player of this calibre it's something you do look hard at [and] is something we did," he said.
"The process sped up very, very rapidly and very quickly over the last 48 hours."
Vaughn was dismissed on Monday after the Nets lost 136-86 to the Boston Celtics last week, leaving Brooklyn at 21-33 and 11th in the Eastern Conference heading into the All-Star break.
The Nets had made the postseason in the last five seasons, but a 6-18 run has left the team with it all to do if they are to keep their playoff streak going.
Nets general manager Sean Marks pointed to a perceived lack of effort as one area that must be fixed by the new head coach.
"It's about the level of compete," Marks told reporters. "We're not going to be the most talented team in the league. I'm not an idiot. I totally understand that.
"But at the same time, this is a talented group of young men out there. And my expectations, and I think their expectations, should be to hold each other accountable to do the little things. The effort plays, the loose balls, the contested shots and so forth, diving on the floor.
"These are things that should be expected when you're in a place that we're at right now, where we're clawing and grappling for every single thing we can. That's what I would hope to see over these next 28 games, and that's probably, to be quite frank, some things I haven't seen. The level of effort and the level of compete has not always been there."
Many pointed to the Nets' 144-122 defeat against the Milwaukee Bucks as the reason for Vaughn's firing. The Nets were fined $100,000 for violating the NBA's player participation policy after choosing to both rest and sit a number of key players.
However, Marks said the Bucks drubbing was not the reason for Vaughn's exit, commenting: "I don't think we lost the team that day.
"I appreciate the fact that players want to play. They want to play night in and night out.
"Again, I don't think there was one decision that ultimately affected the record or [making] this decision this day. I think a lot of things went into that."
Marks is charged with building a championship-worthy supporting cast around superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, who now appear healthy for the start of the NBA season on December 22.
"I sincerely mean it when I say I like this group that we have," Marks said. "The group has been together for a while now and we continue to add some pieces to it.
"Training camp is going to be competitive and it is going to be fun with the group we have, and if things change, things change."
The Nets have already made a three-team deal that brought in Landry Shamet and Bruce Brown, a trade that Marks said cements the organisation's "win-now" strategy.
While Marks understandably would not make any definitive comments about his plans for the roster, he seemed to make subtle references to the speculation involving Harden.
"I couldn't tell you if we're done yet or not," he told reporters. "But I don't see us changing five or six guys on the roster if that's what you mean."
While it is unknown what Brooklyn would be required to give up for a former MVP and three-time scoring champion like Harden, the likes of Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie and Jarrett Allen have been mentioned frequently in rumours.
"It's the ugly part of the business, the strange part, the awkward part, and I think it needs to be discussed," Marks said. "I've talked to several guys about this, and just said, 'Look, they're just rumours'.
"Let's go out there and concentrate on what we have at hand, which is the group that's here. They understand this is a business and let's be prepared."
Another hurdle in any potential move to acquire Harden is that the Nets likely would be unable to retain sharpshooter Joe Harris, who scored a career-high 14.5 points per game last season.
"[Keeping Harris] is definitely a priority. We hope that we can continue to build with Joe," Marks said. "Joe is an intricate piece to the programme here, not only what he does and what everybody sees on the court but off the court as well.
"He's seen this programme develop and developed alongside this programme. It would certainly be great to have him continue this ride with us."
The price for acquiring the 31-year-old Harden would certainly be high, but Brooklyn have never had a player average 30.0 points per game across a season. Harden has done so on three occasions.
Durant has two such campaigns, too, with the pair accounting for seven of the previous 11 scoring titles - a prize never won by a Nets player.
A potential Durant-Irving-Harden trio is tantalising, yet it may ultimately be too short-sighted for Marks' taste.
"There is the other side of look: take advantage of what we have right now and take advantage of the moment. We obviously have a talented group that we can put on the floor as is," Marks said. "Until we know what deals are being offered or what we are offering, it would be difficult to say.
"We wouldn't want to mortgage our future, no."
After 80 games in just shy of 13 months, Harden has left the Nets for the Philadelphia 76ers in a blockbuster trade involving Ben Simmons.
The 76ers had been looking for a superstar in exchange for Simmons and were able to put together a package to tempt the Nets when it became clear Harden was open to moving on.
Harden had last January forced his way out of the Houston Rockets to move to Brooklyn and team up with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
But the Nets' 'Big Three' played just 365 minutes together across 16 games in the regular season and playoffs.
Although the Nets went 13-3 in those games, Harden and Irving were each absent for three games of the seven-game series against eventual champions the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2020-21 postseason.
The injury issues that dogged the trio last year have continued this season, while Irving has played just 13 games due to a refusal to be vaccinated.
The Nets, on a 10-game losing streak, are now moving in a new direction, but Marks insists their commitment to Harden up until Thursday's trade could not be questioned.
"Make no bones about it: we went all in on getting James Harden and inviting him to the group," Marks said on Friday.
"And these decisions to move on from a player like that, of that calibre, are never easy ones. I just want to be clear that this is not something that you think, 'great, let's just make a split decision and move on from that'.
"I give James a lot of credit for having open dialogue, open discussions with me and with the group, [Nets coach Steve Nash] and [owner] Joe Tsai and everybody over the last 24, 48 hours.
"Again, I said they're not easy, but I think that's something we pride ourselves on is being open and honest. James was honest with us and we were honest with him.
"I think it's a move that enables him to have a fresh start, enables this team to have a fresh start, without trying to push things to make things work.
"If we realise this is not going to work, short term or long term, then it's time to say for, both parties involved, this is better off."
Harden, whose 76ers debut is likely to be next week, will be warmly received in Philly.
Second-year point guard Tyrese Maxey welcomed the 10-time All-Star, who is set to shine alongside MVP candidate Joel Embiid.
"It's going to be great. It's two MVP-calibre players on top of what we have here already," Maxey said, adding: "It's going to be great, and I just can't wait."
