King: iPad (and iPhone) Signings Were Efficient Way to Do Deals

In the same interview where he talks about Andrei Kirilenko, Billy King explains why the Nets used the iPad AND the iPhone to get their players signed on July 11. It wasn't just to show off the Nets' digital dexterity, says King. It was the most efficient way to meet deadlines under the CBA.

We had a lot of guys that needed to be signed in a short amount to time. I was in Las Vegas with Deron and my assistant GM, Bobby Marks, was in the office back in New York. Gerald Wallace was in Mississippi. We had one guy, Mirza Teletovic, he was in Bosnia. So we uploaded all of them on the iPad. I signed them. Deron signed his. We emailed it in. Gerald signed his. I flew from Vegas to L.A. to get Brook Lopez done. Then Brook signed his on the iPad from his office. I signed in the car on my iPhone headed to the ESPY's. So, it was the quickest way to get it done. A lot of this, with the Collective Bargaining Agreement, certain guys had to sign at certain times so we could use the cap rules to our advantage.

No team uses the iPad as much as the Nets. Each player and staff member gets one. It's pre-loaded with the team's playbook, individualized workout regimens (designed by strength and conditioning coach Jeremy Bettle), video and updates on team news. Not bad for a team owned by a guy who once joked, "I know this iPad. I hope we never meet."