ESPN could look in a surprising direction in its search to replace Adrian Wojnarowski.
ESPN is weighing whether to shift MLB insider Jeff Passan to NBA coverage as a replacement for Adrian Wojnarowski, who announced his departure from the network earlier this month, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported Saturday. The company has not formally pitched Passan on the switch, and it is not known whether he would accept the role if offered.
Passan, who along with fellow ESPN insiders Adam Schefter and Pete Thamel co-wrote ESPN’s article about Wojnarowski’s exit, has not previously worked the NBA beat.
In addition to Passan, ESPN is also looking at a more conventional hire, Shams Charania of The Athletic.
ESPN’s NBA coverage is in flux entering the final season before the league’s new media rights deal gets underway. The company has a vacancy on its lead NBA broadcast team of Mike Breen and Doris Burke, recently laid off Zach Lowe, and has yet to name a new executive in charge of the operation after reassigning David Roberts over the summer.
So far, ESPN has shown a willingness to look beyond its NBA bench for new personnel. In seeking a third member of its lead broadcast team, the network was at one point considering college basketball analyst Jay Bilas.
Shifting Passan from MLB to the NBA would also be a sign that ESPN is potentially deemphasizing baseball in its long-term plans. The company can opt out of its current MLB rights deal after next season. (It is worth noting that Schefter has long expressed interest in the NBA — and at one point worked a handful of games as an NBA sideline reporter — but there is little chance that ESPN would ever consider moving him off of the NFL beat.)
