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Media winners and losers from Kawhi Leonard free agency reporting

July 12, 2019
by Larry Brown
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Adrian WojnarowskiArye AbrahamBrian WindhorstChris BroussardChris HaynesCris CarterDavid PingaloreJalen RoseKawhi LeonardMarc SteinRamona ShelburneRicky DavisStephen A. Smith

LOSERS

Arye Abraham, wannabe Lakers reporter, Twitter

Few people took a bigger “L” on the Kawhi Leonard story than Abraham.

Abraham first received notice in 2013 when he staked out at some Los Angeles hotels during Dwight Howard’s free agency. Abraham was able to gain and report some firsthand information and accordingly received attention for it, but that was more of a one-time case rather than proof that he was the bonafide Lakers insider he now fancies himself.

Abraham said on July 1 and July 2 that Leonard was headed to the Lakers.

He could not have been more wrong. Worse, when he got the story spectacularly wrong, rather than apologize or take responsibility, he sent out a LeBron James video to make it seem like he believed he was better than his peon followers (he since deleted that tweet and actually apologized).

Abraham is an information piggybacker:

Fabricator:

Alleged thief:

He excessively uses the term “sources” to try to add credence to notions where it doesn’t belong. Take a look at this absurd tweet he threw out there that turned a supposed source’s speculation into a report.

He aggressively and unnecessarily tries to claim credit on stories that anyone with a modicum of common sense could have told you.

He may have a low-level Lakers source, but that only makes him a target for manipulation and makes him unable to verify information from the other side of stories. He is not a true NBA insider. Some of his information may be legit, but a lot appears to be fabricated, stolen from others and repackaged, or presented as inside information when it’s not. Until he becomes more discerning and reasonable, he is not a source we would trust or cite as credible.

Chris Broussard

Chris Broussard, host, FS1

If Arye took the biggest L on this story, Broussard was riding shotgun with him and should get credit for an assist.

Broussard used to be an NBA reporter for ESPN but was proven many times in the past to have questionable information. The worst example came when Mark Cuban called him out for outright fabricating a negative story about him. Some of our other favorites involved the “Broussard Special,” which is “confirming” news well after a player himself has announced it. Broussard did that with Deron Williams in 2012 and again with LeBron James in 2014.

Broussard was at the forefront pushing the Kawhi to the Lakers narrative. Look at some of the crap he reported about the Lakers in the lead.

Not only was he pushing that narrative, but one only need to look at this tweet to see how full of crap he is. This says everything you need to know about Broussard.

In that tweet, Broussard mentioned every name possible to get Lakers fans excited and prey on them. Never mind that Leonard was not seriously considering the Lakers. Never mind that the Grizzlies are looking to trade Iguodala and not buy him out. How about how he made it seem like both Green and Curry were possibilities to sign with the Lakers on top of Leonard? That tells you how hype-oriented and how little he focuses on facts. If Leonard were to have signed with the Lakers for the max, the Lakers would not have had any cap space available. They would have only had the $4.7 million room exception available and minimum contracts. Based on how Broussard presented his information, the Lakers were going to get Leonard on the max, Green for $4.7 million, and Curry for the minimum. That total combination was never close to realistic. Green alone signed with the Lakers for $15 million per season, while Curry got $8 million per season from Dallas. The two combined to sign for $23 million per year, but Broussard had Lakers fans convinced they were going to get the duo for $7 million total. Just total and utter bulls— from Broussard.

Oh, and as a bonus, even as late as July 4, the day before Kawhi to the Clippers was announced, Broussard said the Clippers were “out.”

Even after getting the story wrong, Broussard tried to blame his bad info on “circumstances changing.” Wrong, bro. A big part of a reporter’s job is parsing through the information to discern fact from fiction, and to look for the bigger picture. You don’t just report what you have been told; you have to decide whether it is accurate or not and attempt to verify it, otherwise you end up looking bad. The Lakers were totally played by Leonard’s camp, and anyone pushing Leonard to the Lakers was played too. That’s you, Chris. You were totally played.

Broussard does not meet the standards of a trustworthy or reliable reporter. When FS1 hired him, they kept him mostly in a talk show host role and dropped the reporting. They should keep it that way.

Stephen A. Smith, everything, ESPN

Stephen A. has been an accomplished reporter in the past, has NBA sources, and sometimes has scoops. But he has crossed over from reporter to bombastic TV personality, and the line between when he is acting in one role or the other is blurred. On June 28, he reported on ESPN that Kawhi Leonard is seriously considering signing with the Lakers. We later learned that Kawhi was playing them and never was truly considering them seriously.

Worse, Smith said on July 3 he was hearing Kawhi to the Lakers but even admitted he didn’t know how true it was.

“I’m getting word right now from a couple reliable sources: Kawhi going to the Lakers. I don’t know how true it is to be quite honest with you, but they’re telling me: Lakers, Lakers, Lakers.”

If you yourself are not sure how true it is, that proves the information isn’t reliable and you shouldn’t be sharing it publicly. Stephen A seemed to be trying to play both sides of the fence on that one: if Kawhi chooses the Lakers, I mentioned it. If he doesn’t, I also warned you that I wasn’t sure how true it was.

Marc Stein, reporter, New York Times

Stein was the first truly credible reporter who pushed the Kawhi to the Lakers talk. Stein reported on June 25, then June 28, and again on July 2 that the Lakers believed they were heavily in the mix for Leonard and that they would land him.

The only reason Stein isn’t higher on this list is because of the way he presented his information. On each occasion, he was sure to say that the Lakers believed they were a contender/in the lead for Kawhi. That’s different from Stein saying that Stein believes the Lakers are in the lead, the way Broussard did. Because of the way Stein presented his information, it seems more like the Lakers were the ones who got suckered rather than Stein.

Still, having himself so closely tied to pushing the Kawhi to the Lakers narrative on so many occasions looks bad for Stein, an otherwise excellent reporter.

RDAmbition, wannabe Lakers insider, Reddit/Twitter

There was a ton of hype on Monday July 1 that Leonard was joining the Lakers. Most of that hype emanated from one source: RDAmbition, a Reddit user who later reported information on Twitter saying Kawhi had made his decision official and was signing with the Lakers. We already did a deep dive into that report and the person behind the anonymous account that you can read here.

This person was proven to be a total phony fabricating information and has actually since deleted his false predictions.

Jalen Rose, analyst, ESPN

The best analyst on ESPN’s “NBA Countdown” show, Rose stepped out of his usual role (notice a theme here?) and turned reporter for one ill-fated moment. On July 3, Rose said on “Get Up” that he was hearing 99 percent that Kawhi was going to re-sign with Toronto. We later learned that the information he was reporting may have come from other players around the league who would be impacted by Leonard’s choice. Either way, Leonard did not return to Toronto, and a report later said the Raptors never even thought Leonard was serious about a return to them, which should tell you all you need to know about this report.

Ricky Davis, player, BIG3

Ricky Davis and the BIG3 need to be called out here too. Davis said on the day free agency began that Leonard was going to the Lakers. The BIG3 ran with it, trying to tell everybody they had the news first. Instead, they were just another ridiculous source trying to claim credit when it turned out they were wrong.

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