Advertisement - scroll for more content
Who are some of the NBA players that you’ve been in the sand with where you were like, “Dude, this guy could be a pro easily”? Who’s nice? Chase Budinger: Zero. None. None. But there have been a few guys that have impressed me. Richard Jefferson, J.J. Barea, Blake Griffin—those are just a few who have come out and played with us. They can compete and have fun with it, but not at the level that we play at.
Richard Jefferson blames new CBA for NBA franchises being sold
Around the same time the CBA was passed in 2023, owners of many of the league’s premier franchises began to sell their teams. In the past two years, the Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, and the Los Angeles Lakers have changed hands, with smaller teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Hornets, and Portland Trail Blazers following suit. Richard Jefferson believes this is because the NBA lessened the value of great owners by punishing teams who assemble elite rosters, spend big, and win. “With this CBA, (teams) are screwed. That’s why all the owners are getting out,” Jefferson said this week on his Road Trippin’ podcast.
“That’s part of the reason why the owners are selling. All the current owners are getting out. That’s part of the conversation. It’s not just owners that want to stack the deck. It’s not just Lakers and Celtics. Charlotte sold, Portland sold. They’re looking at it like, even if I do a good job and I field a good team, it’s going to cost me so much money to even keep a good team. Just the formula of success. And when can say parity, but the parity is all going to spill down into those [worse] teams.”
While complaints have grown not just about Doris Burke but the whole group, Richard Jefferson made his position clear. “Doris, I always call her the godmother of basketball, because she has had to deal with so much bullsh*t for the past 30 years in this industry,” Jefferson told Jimmy Traina on the SI Media Podcast. “She’s one of the best. And so those are the people you’re excited to be teammates with, because they make you better, you make them better. And I think our chemistry is only going to continue to grow.”
Advertisement
ESPN wants to re-sign Richard Jefferson
While ESPN intends on re-signing Jefferson, it has not yet locked him up with his contract expiring, according to sources briefed on the talks. Amazon Prime Video has expressed some interest in Jefferson, according to the same sources. Meanwhile, Burke’s spot is not guaranteed for next season, according to sources familiar with ESPN’s preliminary plans. While Breen, the Basketball Hall of Famer under a long-term deal, is not going anywhere, ESPN will evaluate its entire roster.
Richard Jefferson on conspiracy theories: The NBA likes the fact that people are like, 'Oh, this is rigged'
In a recent episode of his “Road Trippin'” podcast, Jefferson argued that the NBA actually likes the conspiracy theories, as they add to the league’s reputation for drama. “The two percent does happen. It happens a lot,” Jefferson said. “Everyone wants to say it’s rigged, but the NBA likes that illusion of this. It’s part of the allure. The NBA is the most dramatic sport. It’s the second-biggest sport in the world, but it’s the most dramatic. “The drama that goes into basketball players on and off the court, all the drama, the pettiness, the dads on the court talking s–t to Hall-of-Famers, the NBA is always full of some s–t. That’s just part of the drama. The NBA likes the fact that people are like, ‘Oh, this is rigged.'”
Richard Jefferson: 1. Pritch Please 2. Let me fix your post “I’m a huge Boston supporter and I wish they spoke MORE about Pritchard” 3. I personally did a highlight package for Pritchard during the game. 4. So to say we didn’t mention it for 2 hours is an actually lie or maybe a bias opinion. I’ll let you pick. Ps… have me on the pod again soon. I miss it.
I know ESPN didn’t mention it for almost 2 hours - but that was a superb Pritchard game. Played 18 huge mins in first half. They really needed him today.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) May 10, 2025
Van Gundy, 65, joins Ian Eagle on Prime Video’s game telecasts. While Prime has designated Eagle as its No. 1 play-by-play announcer, it plans on waiting to name its top game analysts. It has shown interest in Richard Jefferson, who was just promoted to ESPN’s No. 1 crew with Mike Breen and Doris Burke. Jefferson’s contract expires after he calls the NBA Finals for ABC in June.
Advertisement
According to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, ESPN and ABC will use Richard Jefferson alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke during marquee national TV games the rest of the season. However, the network has yet to commit to Jefferson calling the NBA Finals.
“The rest of the season … when they have three-person teams, the only three-person team they have the rest of the regular season is Mike Brain, Doris Burke, and Richard Jefferson,” Marchand reported on his podcast this week. “That would make you think, OK, that must be the Finals team. Not so fast … but it doesn’t make much sense that you go with any other trio that’s at least on your roster right now, if you’re not going to have them do any more games.”
Amazon Prime Video is poaching ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth to be its No. 1 sideline reporter when it begins NBA coverage next season, sources briefed on the agreement told The Athletic. Hubbarth moves to the top position with Prime Video where she will join play-by-play caller Ian Eagle on its lead crew. Amazon has not yet hired top game analysts, but has TNT’s Stan Van Gundy and ESPN’s Richard Jefferson, among its top choices. It also has had talks with Dwyane Wade about a hybrid role that would comprise studio and games.
Amazon has shown some interest in Richard Jefferson, according to sources briefed on the discussions.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement