On Friday, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey sat down with the internet. It was his second “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit, one of largest of the net’s social hubs. Morey let hundreds, if not thousands, of users ask him whatever questions they saw fit. Openness to the public isn’t new in the sports world, but this kind of availability is on a different level from a simple press conference. Morey and the Rockets are trying to get ahead of yet another curve.
Daryl Morey isn’t the only NBA figure to have sat down with Reddit, of course. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban took time out of his Christmas eve to do so last year, and San Antonio Spurs star Manu Ginobili talked to Reddit this March. What’s notable about Morey is that he’s done three of them. His first venture was in September of last year, and he’s checked back in during the playoffs and now at the end of the off season. For him Houston, this isn’t a publicity stunt or novelty. This is part of a pattern.
While many have already dissected the content of his sit-down with the web, a few of his notes are particularly relevant. In particular, he’s repeatedly noted that he stays abreast of Rockets commentariat, including keeping tabs on such sites as this one and its esteemed competitors (and, perhaps, reading about how he’s reading about the Rockets). This isn’t particularly surprising, as it behooves front offices to stay cogent of team perception. What’s notable is that Morey will not only openly admit to perusing the blogophere, but discuss with fans the possibility of learning from it.
“Fan reaction I am not very interested in. Fan ideas I am. Fans don’t surprise me too often — we have smart fans.”
The fact that the face of Houston’s front office is even willing to imply that consumers of NBA culture might have useful ideas is remarkable. The traditional model of producers and consumers is common between sports, cinema, music, literature, and everything else that comprises our mass media. In opening the door for a more two-way interaction with the users, Houston is throwing its hat in with a larger, sweeping change. New media and social sites are changing everything.
For anyone familiar with modern communications theory (nearly everyone reading this, I’m sure), the intrusion of new media on traditional media is the greater story of the past fifteen years. Consumers of media can now produce and distribute their own works. As more services like Youtube and Vine pop up, as more people get their news from online and blog sources, as high-definition cameras become cheaper and easier to use, the advantage owned by old media outlets wanes. When more holes appear in the wall, the gatekeeper loses importance.
What, then, does any of this have to do with James Harden throwing a ball at a hoop? Everything. Morey’s three AmA’s are important because they’re simply the most obvious sign that the Rockets organization is right there in this shifting tide. Just this week, James Harden released a commercial and a track which are making the rounds through the net. Jeremy Lin is literally a “prosumer” (or producer and consumer of media) himself, and his “You’ve Changed, Bro” video is a perfect example of independent and non-traditional filmmaking. Few managers are as active and vocal on twitter as Morey is. In fact, twitter’s role in the NBA and sports at large, and media at large, are each deep enough topics to write entire books on.
Other teams, like the Minnesota Timberwolves, are also jumping on new media, hosting Google Hangouts and letting people interact with players. And other teams embrace analytics the way the Rockets do, like the Memphis Grizzlies hiring John Hollinger, creator of PER. The Rockets, however, are notable in their marriage of these two tendencies. Morey is not only an analyst, he’s also an online citizen of the highest order. Not only that, but for these reasons, he’s actually one of the stars of the team. While the Spurs right down the street might prefer to operate quietly and effectively, the Rockets enjoy the warm glow of fan, commentariat and internet attention. Whether this will distract from trying to win has yet to be seen, but it certainly captures attention.
Plenty has been made of things Morey said to Reddit (including an extremely unsurprising comment regarding the power forward position), but there’s something bigger at play. The very fact that it happened at all is the most important statement made. There’s a slowly growing trend in the NBA, and the Rockets, like always, are shoving to the front of the line. Daryl Morey is online.
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