Adrian Wojnarowski's former protege Shams Charania and ex ESPN insider among candidates to replace veteran reporter: Report
Adrian Wojnarowski left the NBA community stunned on Wednesday when he announced that he was retiring from his news and media duties. After seven years with ESPN, Adrian Wojnarowski's decision to walk away at the height of his career was nothing short of shocking for fans, as well as his peers.
In the wake of the announcement, talk quickly shifted to potential replacements, given that ESPN lost its NBA insider. According to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, the two current frontrunners for the job are Shams Charania and Chris Haynes.
While Wojnarowski had become a staple of X, formerly known as Twitter, he frequently made appearances on ESPN's TV programming. From pre-game coverage moments before tipoff to his NBA Countdown show with Stephen A. Smith, finding someone to fill the NBA insider's shoes could be a tough task.
Fortunately for the network, it reportedly has eyes sets on two strong candidates in Sharania and Haynes, both of whom are preparing to hit free agency as their existing contracts expire. McCarthy wrote on X:
“My sources tell me ESPN will likely talk to Shams Charania, Wojanrowski’s former Yahoo Sports protégé, and former ESPNer Chris Haynes."
Both Shams Charania and Chris Haynes are set to hit free agency. In the case of Charania, the former protegé of Adrian Wojnarowski has been considered one of Woj's main rivals in recent years.
Looking at both Shams Charania and Chris Haynes as potential candidates to replace Adrian Wojnarowski on ESPN
While Woj and Shams were once a dynamic duo at Yahoo! Sports early on in Charania's career, in recent years, the two NBA insiders have been in competition to break the biggest scoops in basketball.
Currently, Charania's primary work has been with The Athletic as well as FanDuel, where he makes appearances on FanDuel TV to discuss the latest NBA news. Given that he and Woj have largely been considered the two most well-connected insiders, it would make sense for ESPN to target him as Woj's replacement.
In the case of Chris Haynes, the former ESPN reporter has been carving out his own lane as an NBA insider. Currently, Haynes, who is also set to hit free agency once his contract expires, has been bringing breaking news and exclusive coverage to TNT and Bleacher Report.
Given that and his past experience with ESPN, Haynes has more familiarity when it comes to being on-camera, as Adrian Wojnarowski frequently was with ESPN. In addition, considering Haynes has worked with ESPN in the past, there may be a natural fit for him as Wojnarowski's successor on the network.