Rumors

Over the many years of the HoopsHype Rumors page, thousands of reporters have seen their work featured on it. If you're a frequent reader, you know some of them appear on the site on a quasi-daily basis, with Shams Charania being the most obvious example these days. While the ESPN reporter is the dominant force in the NBA scoop business right now, he still trails former mentor Adrian Wojnarowski by a fair amount in all-time HoopsHype Rumors mentions, as you can see in this new tool.

HoopsHype

On “The Program with Woj,” host Adrian Wojnarowski interviewed Somalia Men’s National Basketball Team coach Dalmar Ali to learn more about his experience as the new leader of the Somalian National Team. Ali credited former Raptors exec Masai Ujiri for inspiring him to use a career in basketball for the greater good. “Ujiri is the reason why I really found that this orange ball that we hold every day can really change someone’s life,” Ali said. “... I look at him as one of us because not only as a Torontonian, but he’s from the continent of Africa. ... To see him be passionate about this thing and try to show that people that no matter where you’re from in the world, you can be successful ... I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to use this orange ball and I’m going to change people’s lives with it.’”

Sports Business Journal

The St. Bonaventure men's basketball program will host its first pro day on Saturday, Oct. 11, at the National Basketball Players Association training facility in midtown Manhattan. The historic event will be the first-ever pro day hosted by a team from a mid-major conference, as well as the first collegiate pro day at an off-campus site. "The first Bonnies Pro Day is a tremendous opportunity for NBA and G League front office executives to scout our players in a competitive practice and workout environment," St. Bonaventure general manager Adrian Wojnarowski said. "Professional evaluation is a long process and our unparalleled relationships with the league's decision-makers allows St. Bonaventure's players to be front-and-center in the eyes and minds of organizations in a way few, if any, mid-major collegiate programs are able. To have the Pro Day in midtown Manhattan at a world-class facility like the National Basketball Players Association makes it an even more ideal setting for the NBA and the Bonnies come together."

gobonnies.com

The St. Bonaventure men's basketball program will host its first pro day on Saturday, Oct. 11, at the National Basketball Players Association training facility in midtown Manhattan. The historic event will be the first-ever pro day hosted by a team from a mid-major conference, as well as the first collegiate pro day at an off-campus site. "The first Bonnies Pro Day is a tremendous opportunity for NBA and G League front office executives to scout our players in a competitive practice and workout environment," St. Bonaventure general manager Adrian Wojnarowski said.

gobonnies.com

Representatives from all 30 NBA teams and draft analysts will be invited to get an exclusive look at the Bonnies' roster. The players will participate in a variety of high-intensity drills and workouts to put their talents on display.

gobonnies.com

Adrian Wojnarowski: Thanks to the @Hoophall and a lot of family, friends and basketball legends who made enshrinement weekend an unforgettable experience.

Twitter

Ethan Strauss: What’s interesting is (Woj) called me after I was fired, and everybody was talking about, ‘This is why it happened.’ My CAA agent was telling me that I was in trouble because of it. And he sounded nervous. He was just hemming and hawing, and he was telling me that he didn't get me fired. And I have to say — it was in a way I didn’t believe. But it was just interesting to me that somebody would maybe hate me enough to get me fired — but they wouldn’t want me to know that. And they wouldn’t want other people to know that. And that would be a big deal to them."

YouTube

Ethan Strauss: “There’s been a lot said on one side. We’re getting a lot of play-by-play detail from the Spurs’ side. We haven’t heard anything — not from Kawhi, not from Uncle Dennis, nobody. They’ve respected the in-house, keep-the-laundry-in-house edict. The Spurs haven’t. And so, regardless of wherever people land on this, let’s just understand one thing: San Antonio is the one that’s acting out of character, in terms of how they usually keep their business internal. Right? So, I really took the Spurs to task.” “Adrian calls Kevin Wildes — yes, that same Kevin Wildes who, at the time, was the executive producer of The Jump. Kevin brings me in. I sit down with him. He says, ‘Adrian’s saying that you’re ripping on his reporting.’ I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘Yeah, he’s very agitated.’ And I said, ‘Look, Kevin, here’s the deal: I didn’t say anything about the reporting. The reporting is valid. I’m saying that the San Antonio Spurs are leaking in a way that they’ve never leaked before. And it’s not fair to make this into “people have said.” I’m not criticizing his reporting. I’m criticizing his source — the truth of the reporting, which is how his source is behaving.’”

YouTube

In an appearance on the Marchand Sports Media podcast this week, Wojnarowski insisted he spent no more than “7 or 8 seconds” discussing current ESPN talent when he was hired to lead the NBA reporting team in 2017. However, Wojnarowski conspicuously refused to state Stein’s name in his response. “I remember with ESPN and my conversations before I came, maybe about 7 or 8 seconds about the current staff,” Wojnarowski said. “(Former ESPN EVP John Kosner) asked me what my relationship was with who you mentioned was the NBA insider at ESPN at the time. I said I don’t have a relationship with him; we’ve been competitors, but I’m sure we would get along great working together. And he said, ‘OK.’ That was it. That was the only conversation we ever had, and they made decisions.”

Awful Announcing

Any argument that he was waving a wand that decided the futures of ESPN’s existing NBA staff is “not based in fact,” Wojnarowski said. “I knew what the truth was, people at ESPN knew what the truth was,” he added. “There’s going to be people trying to piece together and reach and make it something that it was not. But I can’t control that.”

Awful Announcing

Woj: "Working at ESPN is like playing for the Yankees. Nobody roots for you...you're going to get criticism there. That's what you signed up for"

x.com

In September, Wojnarowski stunned the sports world when he announced his departure from ESPN and pivoted to college athletics. “I love my new job. Helping players grow as athletes and as people is incredibly rewarding,” he said. “St. Bonaventure changed my life. I was the first in my family to attend college, and this place gave me a foundation. Now, my job is to give back—whether it’s to our students, alumni, or community.” Though he remains connected with former colleagues in media, he says he has no regrets: “That chapter is closed. I loved working at ESPN, but this new role excites me in a completely different way.”

BasketNews

Brian Windhorst tried to make sense of that dynamic during a first look at his interview on the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast. “There’s a couple of reasons. One, because Shams is basically the person of record — and Woj before him,” Windhorst said. “So, when Woj is in the same boat, so just assume when I say Shams, I also am talking about Woj, because they’re [interchangeable]. Their track record is spectacular. So when they say something, it is taken as record. They’re essentially the Clearinghouse of information. And also, it’s incredibly reliable that everybody in the world that need to know will know. “And in the case of contracts, it behooves the agents and the team sometimes to get it on the record, because it’s not finalized. And Shams and Adrian again — assume that I’m saying both – but Shams works extraordinarily hard. And so, when a transaction happens, he may be the first call, but he didn’t fall backwards into being the first call. He worked to get himself there. So, I can say in the year that I’ve worked with him, in fact, it’s been less than year — it’s been like nine months — I’ve called him or texted him with news tips dozens of times, and maybe twice he didn’t already know, or was somewhat was aware.”

Awful Announcing

Giannis Antetokounmpo: Does anyone else miss Woj?!

x.com