ESPN Film ‘Broke’ Resonates With Thunder Players

Troy Weaver sent text messages last night to nearly every player in training camp with the Thunder.

The team’s assistant general manager wanted to make sure they all were watching the ESPN “30 for 30″ production “Broke.”

Weaver knew that the same issues depicted in the 1 1/2 hour documentary are the same potential pitfalls his team’s players must navigate now. They’re real. And they’re real dangerous.

“I think that was a good show for a lot of people last night, and I hope everybody was watching it,” said reserve point guard Eric Maynor on Wednesday after tweeting a few of his reactions to the film during the broadcast.

Maynor expressed shock at stories of the large sums of money that both family members and ex-wives have commanded from athletes. But while those might have been revelations, Maynor said he is all-too familiar with the more customary trappings that accompany his status.

“It’s a sick world,” Maynor said. “Just looking at that stuff and knowing I’m around those same things every day and knowing these guys had this amount of money and they’re now trying to look for a job. So you just got to take care of your money, man, and take care of yourself.”

The biggest takeaway for Maynor was to just “be careful.”

“With all the money that guys get, not just in this league but in any sport, you got to be careful with the people around you,” Maynor said. “You got to be careful about how you take care of your money if you want to have some money after you play.”

Similar warnings are annually shared at the league’s rookie transition program and at mandatory NBA meetings at the start of each season. Still, the lifestyle has its way of catching up.