NJ Nets GM talks Armor partnership with season ticket holders

Date: 12/7/2010

Dec. 6, 2010

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

SPRINGFIELD -- New Jersey Nets General Manager Billy King now knows exactly how long the trip will be for his players shuttling from the Prudential Center in Newark to the MassMutual Center.

"It's better than having to get on a flight and go to Fort Wayne [Ind.] or Austin [Texas]," he joked.

King took the two and a half hour trip from I-95, up I-84 to I-91 to help celebrate the recent announcement of the Nets' hybrid affiliation with Springfield's National Basketball Association Developmental League (NBA D-League) team, the Armor, at an event for season ticket holders and members of the media.

"It's to put a product on the floor that the fans can be proud of," King said when asked what the Nets' primary responsibility to the city of Springfield is. "That's what we're going to try to do work closely with the coaches and the players to ensure they are playing at a high level."

King added that the Nets will be involved and visible in Springfield and would not be "a partner in name only."

The hybrid affiliation is similar to minor league affiliations in baseball in which major league teams are the sole affiliates of their developmental partners. Starting next season, the Armor will be equipped solely with players from the Nets organization.

The Armor and the Nets form only the second such affiliation in the NBA D-League.

"It gives us a chance to really implement our system and our culture so that when guys do get called up, they know how things are run and how we do things," King said.

King added that in addition to the relatively close proximity to New Jersey, Springfield was a good fit because of Armor owner Michael Savit's experience with these kinds of affiliations. Savit's company, HWS Group, runs five minor league baseball teams, in addition to the Armor.

When asked by a member of the crowd whether the Nets would use Springfield as a pit stop for players or if the Nets intended to help the Armor win D-League championships, King said he felt the two were directly related.

"I think they go hand-in-hand. If you are developing players to play at a high level, then those players will have the ability to win," he said. "The idea is to teach [players] the culture of winning. It's kind of the same thing we're dealing with [in New Jersey] right now -- trying to get players to understand how to win."