NBA TV's 'The Association' Puts the Focus on the Nets' Move to Brooklyn
The last time a professional sports franchise played in Brooklyn, N.Y., was 1957. The Dodgers left for Los Angeles, leaving Brooklyn sports fans broken-hearted.
55 years later, Brooklyn has another pro franchise as the Nets start their first season in the new Barclays Center. The team's move from New Jersey has made the Nets a hot ticket throughout the NBA.
With all the buzz surrounding the move, NBA TV will debut their series "The Association: Brooklyn Nets" on Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET. The show will take a season-long look at the team and the borough and how the move has energized the franchise. I spoke to Nets general manager Billy King about the Nets, the show and the move to Brooklyn via a teleconference.
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 weren'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 if he talked to the players about the show: "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 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."
* All quotes in this story were obtained first hand via conference call held by NBA TV.
