In the wake of his retirement as a player, six-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin is said to be drawing significant interest not from NBA teams but from the league’s new television partners. According to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, Griffin is in talks with Amazon Prime Video about a role as an analyst on their NBA coverage, with NBC and ESPN also believed to be interested in the former Clippers star.
Amazon and NBC aren’t currently airing NBA games, but will begin to do so in 2025/26, when the league’s new media rights deal takes effect, and will need to fill out their broadcast teams with both game and studio analysts. One source suggests to McCarthy that Griffin, who has an engaging personality and tried his hand at stand-up comedy during his playing days, is a candidate to become “the face” of Amazon’s NBA coverage.
Ryan Glasspiegel of The New York Post recently reported that veteran play-by-play broadcaster Ian Eagle, who calls NBA games for TNT and YES Network, is in serious talks to join Amazon for its NBA coverage. Mike Tirico and Ian’s son Noah Eagle are expected to be the top two play-by-play broadcasters for NBC’s NBA coverage, per Glasspiegel.
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- In an interesting story for The Associated Press, Tim Reynolds takes a closer look at the average shelf life for an NBA head coach, noting that 15 of the league’s 30 coaches are entering either their first, second, or third year with their respective clubs. “That’s a sobering reality of this profession,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, the NBA’s second longest-tenured head coach. “It bums me out when I hear that stat because there are a lot of really talented coaches that if they had the same type of structure and continuity and belief from (their teams) … there could be a lot more coaches able to do what I’m able to do here (in Miami).”
- Celtics star Jayson Tatum has informally agreed to join a bid to bring a WNBA franchise to his home city of St. Louis, reports Jacob Feldman of Sportico. Billionaires Richard Chaifetz and David Hoffman are heading up the prospective ownership group, according to Feldman, who notes that NBA players are permitted to own up to a 4% stake in a WNBA franchise.
- A second gambler has admitted to his role in the Jontay Porter betting scheme, pleading guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, per an Associated Press report. The Pennsylvania man, Mahmud Mollah, will be sentenced on May 2 in federal court. A wide range of sentences are possible, from a no-jail punishment to 20 years in prison.