Shams Charania ESPN’s Top Target To Replace Adrian Wojnarowski, But Others In Play

NBA insider Shams Charania will forever be connected to Adrian Wojnarowski, and now Charania may be in line to replace him.

Wojnarowski announced he’s retiring from the insider game to work as GM of the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball program. The announcement was a true stunner to the NBA community.

But now that Woj is out, who will be in? Well, the obvious answer would indeed be Charania, currently of The Athletic and soon to be a media free agent. Charania recently left Stadium and currently also works for FanDuel TV. Sources say he is ESPN’s top target.

One sports media industry insider went as far as to tell Hoops Wire that if ESPN doesn’t land Charania for the role “it’s a big loss.”

Others have speculated that the job could go to Chris Haynes, a former ESPN employee who is leaving TNT Sports, or perhaps current ESPN insider Brian Windhorst (though Windhorst is believed to be more than content in his current role).

A dark horse may be Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who has gained a lot of traction in the NBA insider game over the past five or six years. ESPN Lakers reporter Dave McMenamin would also receive this outlet’s endorsement.

Still, no one would could compete with a name such as Charania, who has been utterly dominant in breaking NBA news for about a decade now. The only guy with a better run is Woj. Haynes and Michael Scotto of HoopsHype are probably others in the top five.

Interestingly, this shakeup, created by the legendary Wojnarowski, comes at a time when ESPN/ABC renewed its media rights deal with the NBA. Meanwhile, NBC Sports and Amazon will start carrying games next fall, and those outlets are expected to hire insiders and former NBA players and coaches to assist with their own coverage.