What a wild off-season this is turning out to be . . . http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...s-mavericks-finish-career-220525472--nba.html
Is anyone else tired of ESPN's faulty reporting this offseason? First, it's that the Nets asbolutely cannot trade for Dwight Howard. Then the news on ESPN the next day was that the Nets have offered a trade for... Dwight Howard. Next thing you know, they report that Jason Kidd has pretty much signed another deal with Dallas yesterday, only to wake up this morning to hear that he's going to New York. ESPN used to be my go-to-source. Conversationally, it'd be like, "Howard can't go to the Nets anymore? How do you know that?" ... "I saw it on ESPN. They devoted like a half an hour to it on Sportscenter." Next day on ESPN, "So it turns out the Nets CAN trade for Howard." ESPN keeps making me look stupid in front of people I know who think of me as 'the basketball guy.' I'm sure ya'll can relate.
So NY is probably out of the Felton race. I wonder where Felton ends up? Would he be interested in backing up Lillard? I know most want to see him gone no matter what, but I'd like to see him stick around as a backup. He'd be able to keep his bird rights and we could trade him if a contending team losses a PG. I really don't want to go into the season without a legit veteran PG, Nolan Smith isn't going to cut it as our main backup.
The Dwight Howard thing is because it was believed that the Nets signed Telatovic to the full MLE...that would have put a hard cap on them, making a Howard trade all but impossible. It was later revealed that he got the taxpayer's or "mini" MLE...which meant that they did not have a hard cap. I mean, I suppose you could fault them for believing initial reports that it was the full MLE, but it seems like a reasonable thing to operate from if that was the initial report. It's a small difference that has a major effect.
I think it is sloppy reporting. I think the ESPN staff has seen a generational shift away from reporters to wannabe "personalities". And that shift is what allows these kinds of (pretty lame) errors to happen. ESPN: ok, so you got Teletovic. What is the deal? Source: I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but it is the MLE. ESPN: k, thanks. bye. A reporter who knows their stuff says, "which MLE are we talking?"
It may have to do with how quick other mass media has been in breaking news. Before smart phones and guys like Woj, ESPN was the place to get your info. They need to find a way to get the news out faster and I'm guessing it has been at the cost of their accuracy.
I think the bigger reason is the shift in the news media (across all types of news, not just sports) that "winning" the breaking news is what counts. That's why you have FOX News and CNN both reporting, last week, that the Supreme Court struck down the individual mandate because they didn't wait to listen to the whole judgment. Like everything else (politics, social debates, etc), news reporting has become competition. And getting certain facts wrong in haste is worthwhile collateral damage, to them, in trying to win.
