NBA legend gets new broadcasting gig

The New York Knicks and MSG Network have been searching for someone to help stand in for Walt “Clyde” Frazier, who turned 79 earlier this year. The thought was that someone would be former Golden State Warriors head coach and longtime NBA on ESPN analyst Mark Jackson.

Unfortunately, that never came to fruition as team president Leon Rose denied Jackson a seat on the team plane because of an old quarrel with assistant coach Darren Erman. But it now appears that the Knicks have found a stand-in for Frazier (and Jackson), as The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reports that Jamal Crawford will do about 10 games as an analyst for MSG during the 2024-25 NBA season.

Awful Announcing’s Brendon Kleen reported last month that Warner Bros. Discovery made Crawford an offer to return for what will likely be TNT’s final season airing the NBA, but Crawford decided to pursue other options during the massive shift in NBA broadcasting ahead of the start of a new rights deal starting in 2025.

One of those opportunities will be with the Knicks, but according to Marchand, Crawford is a well-sought-after NBA free agent and will have — and has — interest from other major networks. Per Marchand’s reporting, Crawford is a candidate to join Amazon, NBC, or ESPN, as all three networks have expressed interest in the 44-year-old Crawford.

That said, only the Worldwide Leader could give Crawford a tangible analyst role for the ’24-25 season, as Amazon and NBC won’t have those rights until the following season. Last week, ESPN announced its slate of analysts for the upcoming season , with Crawford’s name nowhere to be found, though that could obviously change.

In any event, Crawford will have a chance to call NBA games this upcoming season, regardless of whether he secures a national job or not. That said, it would be surprising if he didn’t.

[ The Athletic ]

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