Mark Jackson reportedly close to landing new TV job

Feb 23, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; ESPN broadcast commentator Mark Jackson during the NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Mark Jackson is ready to hit a new job out of the park, with all due respect.

Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported on Monday that the former ESPN broadcaster Jackson is moving towards a broadcasting role with the New York Knicks. Jackson will potentially be filling in on MSG Network for 78-year-old Knicks legend Walt Frazier on road broadcasts (with Frazier looking to cut back on his travel schedule for next season).

Marchand adds that Jackson, 58, still has money left on his contract with ESPN and would likely need their permission for the MSG Network gig. Jackson just got laid off by ESPN in the summer after over a decade of providing color commentary on their NBA telecasts.

Jackson already has deep ties to the Knicks. He was drafted by the team in 1987 and played two separate stints with them (from 1987-92 and 2001-02). Jackson won Rookie of the Year as a Knick in 1988 and also made the lone All-Star team of his career with them in 1989.

With his longtime ESPN broadcast partner Mike Breen alwo serving as MSG Network’s play-by-play guy alongside Frazier, Jackson should fit in like a glove there. There were some prior rumors that Jeff Van Gundy, the other member of the famous ESPN NBA trio, might be joining Jackson on MSG Network too. However, Marchand notes in his report that a Van Gundy-MSG Network partnership is now seen as “very unlikely to happen.”