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2 weeks ago | 
basketball.realgm.com | Ryan Glasspiegel |Michael McCarthy |Michael Mccarthy
Anthony Slater will leave The Athletic to join ESPN later this summer. Slater will continue to focus on the Golden State Warriors while also contributing to the network's national coverage of the NBA.
Slater left The Oklahoman in 2016 for the Mercury News to continue covering Kevin Durant when the star left the Oklahoma City Thunder to sign with the Warriors. Slater later joined Marcus Thompson and Tim Kawakami at The Athletic.
Slater has long been a podcast co-host with Sam Amick.
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3 weeks ago | 
basketball.realgm.com | Michael McCarthy |Michael Mccarthy
ESPN will begin to license "Inside The NBA" from TNT beginning with the 2025-26 NBA season with Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson expected to retain full editorial control. Sources tell FrontOfficeSports ESPN has "zero plans to change the iconic show's DNA."
“Some of the speculation’s just nuts," said one source. "ESPN has wanted Barkley and this show for 20 years.
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Feb 21, 2025 | 
basketball.realgm.com | Michael McCarthy |Michael Mccarthy |Ryan Glasspiegel
Malika Andrews and Brian Windhorst will be free agents in 2025. Andrews' current contract with ESPN expires in the fall, while Windhorst's is up in the summer. ESPN would like to retain both members of their team.
Andrews hosts both NBA Today and NBA Countdown. Andrews also has fans within the NBA league office. Some insiders have speculated that Andrews could eventually have a place on a daytime news and entertainment program.
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Feb 14, 2025 | 
basketball.realgm.com | Michael McCarthy |Michael Mccarthy
Shaquille O'Neal has agreed to a long-term extension with TNT worth over $15 million per year. TNT will begin licensing Inside The NBA to ESPN next season. While Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson were already on long-term deals, O'Neal's status as the fourth member of the crew was unclear given his expiring contract.
O'Neal is believed to have a net worth of approximately $500 million.
Tom Brady is the highest paid sports media personality at $37.5 million per year with Fox.
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
basketball.realgm.com | Michael McCarthy |Michael Mccarthy
Draymond Green has held exploratory broadcasting talks with one or more of the NBA's media partners. Green has previously worked with TNT, who will lose their media rights after the current season. Green could potentially remain with the Inside The NBA crew as they move over to ESPN.
Josh Pyatt, Green’s agent at WME Sports, confirmed several NBA media partners are expressing interest in his client.
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Nov 14, 2024 | 
basketball.realgm.com | Michael McCarthy |Michael Mccarthy |A.J. Perez
The NBA and TNT Sports' parent company Warner Bros. Discovery are rumored to be in settlement talks. WBD filed a lawsuit against the NBA after the league moved forward with their new round of media deals with ESPN, NBC and Amazon. WBD argued that they had match rights for the Amazon deal.
“I know [both sides] want to solve this,” says one source. “It has to be soon. They don’t want to let it drag on,” adds another source.
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Oct 30, 2024 | 
basketball.realgm.com | Michael McCarthy |Michael Mccarthy
Blake Griffin is in talks to join Amazon Prime Video in a significant broadcasting role when they begin broadcasting the NBA in 25-26. One source said Griffin could become "the face" of Prime's coverage in a role akin to Charles Barkley with TNT.
It is not clear if Griffin would be a game or studio analyst.
Griffin has also received interest from NBC and ESPN. Griffin announced his retirement this past April.
“A lot of people are very interested in him,” said one source.
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Oct 23, 2024 | 
basketball.realgm.com | Michael McCarthy |Michael Mccarthy
The new Unrivaled women's three-on-three basketball league is considering making a "Lionel Messi-like" offer in hopes of having Caitlin Clark play in its inaugural season. MLS signed Messi with an unprecedented package that included a contract valued at $150 million, partial ownership and other financial incentives including a revenue share of Apple's MLS Season Pass.
Unrivaled's eight-week season begins in January in Miami. The league was co-founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.
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Oct 1, 2024 | 
basketball.realgm.com | Michael McCarthy |Michael Mccarthy
Adam Schefter is a potential candidate to replace Adrian Wojnarowski as ESPN's senior NBA insider, according to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports.
Schefter would potentially cover both the NBA and the NFL.
There is supposedly mutual interest between both sides, though another source told Front Office Sports that Schefter is not a candidate for the role.
It was reported last week that ESPN is also considering Jeff Passan to take over for Wojnarowski.
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Jul 25, 2024 | 
basketball.realgm.com | Michael McCarthy |Michael Mccarthy
ESPN and Amazon are interested in pursuing Charles Barkley and the rest of the cast of "Inside The NBA" as TNT is set to lose NBA rights after the 24-25 season, sources tell Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports. Barkley could command offers of more than $20 million per year.
TNT announced long-term contract extensions for Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson in October 2022.
ESPN has struggled to find success with "NBA Countdown" across scores of hosts and analysts.
