Any NBA fan knows, when it comes to major news, it comes from two sources: Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, or his one-time disciple, Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Woj or Shams. Coke or Pepsi. Boeing or Airbus.
Trades, player signings, coaching firings, league suspensions — when it comes to big news, it’s coming from one of the pair, plugged into the network of player agents and league executives who know things. At the trade deadline, or the first day of free agency, you go to X, put Woj and Shams on alert, and sit back and grab the popcorn. That’s just how it’s done.
So it was a little bit of a surprise Tuesday night when TNT, airing the Knicks-Nets game, broke in with the news that the Milwaukee Bucks were hiring Glenn “Doc” Rivers as its next coach, citing CNN Sports.
Now, Rivers going to the Bucks was logical enough, seeing as the Bucks had fired Adrian Griffin as its coach earlier in the day, and Rivers has a long and successful track record with the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, and most recently, Philadelphia 76ers.
TNT is the long-time broadcaster of the NBA, and sister outfit CNN is of course a major news organization.
Still, no Woj or Shams. Huh.
And alert fans were starting to notice that CNN wasn’t reporting, on the air or on the internet, the story that TNT said it broke. Odd not to highlight your own major scoop!
Something was up.
Shortly after midnight, TNT then said, “oops,” no deal has been agreed.
By the time you read this, Bucks and Rivers may well have agreed terms. But it looks like the duopoly on NBA transactions is still very much in tact.
