If I was a player, coach, owner or GM, I’m not sure I’d want my team to be part of an all-access show. I’d find it too intrusive.
Fortunately, there are plenty of teams who do want to participate, especially those that need publicity. Next up: The new Brooklyn Nets.
They star in NBA TV’s new edition of The Association. It premieres tonight at 10 p.m. ET.
Here’s the trailer.
Brooklyn could use all the hype it can get as the team settles into its new home. And it’ll be about Brooklyn as much as the team. The first episode includes Brooklyn native, actress Rosie Perez, taking Joe Johnson around the borough.
Perez said:
“I just loved how people were so real with him. Even myself. I said, ‘My goodness, you talk slow as hell.’ He said, ‘Yeah, you just say whatever comes to your mind.’ And I go, ‘Welcome to Brooklyn…get used to it!'”
Last week, Nets GM Billy King and center Brook Lopez addressed the show during a teleconference. Here are some of the excerpts.
King on the opportunity to participate in the show: “It’s a great opportunity for the city and organization as we move into Brooklyn. It will be a great chance for our players and organization to really display what it takes to try and build a winner. To me, it will be a great time for the organization as well as the people of Brooklyn to be able to unveil Brooklyn to the world.”
King on whether he had any concerns about the access: “There really wasn’t any concerns on my part. If this was a young team, I probably would not have wanted to do that. I’m not worried about anything where our players or organization will come out looking bad.”
King on whether he discussed the show with the players: “I didn’t really talk to the players when we first discussed it. The NBA has done a great job of producing the show so the players all get to see it. In regards to the publicity, it’s gone above and beyond what any of us thought. It’s been a great launch.”
King on whether or not there were restrictions placed on the camera and crews: “No. They’ll be in the locker rooms. They get to travel with us. They’ve sort of blended in. The cameras have not distracted them one bit.”
Lopez on participating and having cameras around: “I’ve never really been a part of something quite like this before. It’s a bit of a change….they [production crew] handle themselves very well.”
Lopez on his perception of the change in energy and the mood of the team since relocating to Brooklyn: “It’s only mere miles but the mentality is completely different. We are in the city now and have to deal with a lot more media, but the people in Brooklyn have been so welcoming. The city has a huge sports fan base and is excited to have us. It has really been noticeable in practice, just the level of competition every day. I am getting beat up daily by guys like Reggie [Evans] and Andray [Blatche].