When ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro wanted to jazz up “Monday Night Football,” he reached for his Star and Mickey Mouse wallet. An avid New York Yankees fan, Pitaro evoked the spirit of George Steinbrenner by signing NFL TV standout Peyton Manning and then poaching Joe Buck and Troy Aikman from Fox Sports.
These were big moves for Disney-owned ESPN.
Pitaro gave Buck $75 million and Aikman $90 million in lavish contracts over five seasons, but Manning, with his Omaha Productions and his brother Eli, makes more per year than either of them, though the exact figure is unknown. This offseason, Omaha made another offer by adding the legendary Bill Belichick to this fall's MNF “ManningCast.”
The luster has returned to the production of “Monday Night Football.”
Now, with the NBA Finals underway, Pitaro should take a page out of the NFL playbook: He and his right-hand man, Burke Magnus, president of content at ESPN, should offer LeBron James a Tom Brady-style broadcast deal that would kick in when the 39-year-old James decides to retire.
James' basketball IQ is extraordinary. Like Brady, who begins working in the Fox NFL booth in September on a 10-year, $375 million contract, there's no way to know for sure how good James will be at the game, but part of the goal is to make the broadcast an event.
That's what James would do, standing next to play-by-play announcer Mike Breen. James should call 20-25 games per season, like NFL commentators do, and raise the bar on how to do the Finals this time of year.
If Pitaro can't land James, he should be in mind for 36-year-old Stephen Curry when he's ready to hang up the 3-point shot. Of course, in the meantime, Charles Barkley should and likely will be at the top of ESPN's list if TNT Sports loses its NBA TV package.
That means it's time to reboot ESPN NBA, as the ESPN NBA coverage of the Finals between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks feels small.
For the first two games, ESPN brought on Josh Hart of the New York Knicks as a guest commentator. Hart is well respected for his work ethic and reputation as a good guy, but, as the youngsters like to say, he came off very half-heartedly.
If ESPN wanted to add another guest to its 30-minute pregame and fleeting halftime show, it should have rewarded its commentators who brought in big names like Kendrick Perkins or Richard Jefferson, both of whom are far better on-air commentators on “NBA Today” than rookie Hart did in his guest appearance. At the very least, Hart added another NBA player voice to the Finals celebrations.
Prior to his addition, ESPN's Finals coverage included 3-point shooting specialist JJ Redick as its only former player for 15 years, with Redick joining Doris Burke and Breen in the booth during a consistently disappointing Finals campaign.
There's no Hart in the studio. No former players. Host Malika Andrews will be joined by legendary pundit Michael Wilbon, former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers and the face of ESPN, Stephen A. Smith — when Smith has the time.
After Game 2 on ABC, ESPN aired its postgame show, but Smith was not on it — he had already flown from Boston to Miami in time for “First Take,” even though the show regularly airs from New York.
Smith is the network's undisputed No. 1 star, but it's the games that run the network, and he said at the start of the playoffs that he hoped the Eastern Conference finals would end quickly so he could have a break.
Smith is a workaholic and a sports media mainstay, but if appearing on a studio playoff show is a waste of his time, frankly, cramming it in between his daily TV debates, his thrice-weekly YouTube show, his role on “General Hospital” and every other platform he appears on known to mankind might not be the best fit.
With the series moving to Dallas on Wednesday, nine-time All-Star Paul George has a higher ranking than Hart as a guest commentator. Whether he's good or not remains to be seen. Chris Paul served as a guest commentator during the conference finals and showed signs of potential.
Once the new TV deal is in place, ESPN is expected to hold the rights to broadcast the Finals for 12 years, with the final season under the current deal and the next 11 under the new one. ESPN locked out its rivals with a deal that will pay the league $2.6 billion per year, slightly less than the $2.7 billion it pays the NFL per season. That seems like a smart move, given that TNT Sports is desperately clinging on to the NBA's future.
ESPN's NBA Finals Booth: JJ Redick, Doris Burke and Mike Breen. All three are still finding their groove in their first NBA Finals appearances. (Barry Gossage / NBAE via Getty Images)
Amazon Prime Video, which has a framework agreement with the league, is already considering Ian Eagle to handle the play-by-play, and NBC, which is close to signing a deal, is likely to name Mike Tirico as the No. 1 announcer, according to sources briefed on the plans. That's a strong start that rivals Breen's.
The iconic “Inside the NBA” may be in its final season under a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, but that doesn't mean Barkley or Shaquille O'Neal won't be around. Maybe Kenny Smith or Ernie Johnson could be in. Amazon and NBC will be looking to bring in big names.
In addition to all of this, ESPN should take cues from other networks' coverage of the Super Bowl and World Series. David Roberts, the ESPN executive in charge of the NBA, should order a new graphics package for the finals to further distinguish them from the November games. The networks that broadcast the Super Bowl do this every year, but ESPN needs to do this even more for its NBA coverage because there are so many games that they can all blend together.
Roberts should also watch Fox's MLB October studio broadcast featuring Derek Jeter, David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez. It's a prestigious event, and Fox is bringing in three of the greatest players of the last generation. It doesn't have to be, but if the names aren't coming up, the content needs to be good. That hasn't been the case with this Finals.
Next, ESPN should go after James like they went after Manning. Then they should go after Barkley like they went after Buck and Aikman. Pitaro and company should play like bosses again.
Going deeper
Where will Charles Barkley go? What will happen if ESPN loses JJ Redick? A look at the NBA media problem
(Top photo: Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
