UPDATE:
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USA Today is reporting that the deal with Wojnarowski is official
https://twitter.com/usatodaynba/status/859115605529702401
Here's the most important part of the article from USAT:
Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski has finalized a deal with ESPN and will begin working for the company by the start of NBA free agency on July 1, a person with knowledge of the deal who is not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.
UPDATE:
Wojnarowski recently tweeted the following:
Excited to have Tom Crean returning to @TheVertical/@Yahoo live NBA Draft show June 22. Whole gang, including @DraftExpress, will be there.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 1, 2017
That would make it appear that he'll remain at Yahoo. Or he could just be trolling everyone involved.
On the heels of ESPN releasing most of its basketball staff, the worldwide leader is reportedly hiring Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, per Recode.
"Sources familiar with ESPN's plan say Wojnarowski will begin working for ESPN in time to cover the June 22 NBA draft. I'm told the network also intends to bring aboard some of the staff of The Vertical, the NBA site Wojnarowski launched for Yahoo 2016.
An ESPN rep declined to comment; I've asked Wojnarowski for comment but haven't heard back."
On Friday, top NBA breaking news reporter Marc Stein announced that he was among the company's massive layoff that is expected to affect over 100 employees.
Stein had been with ESPN as a writer for 17 years, and he had evolved into one of the sports' top breaking news reporters. Stein is the latest in what has been a complete gutting of ESPN's NBA coverage, as other big NBA writers like Henry Abbott, Ethan Strauss, Justin Verrier, and Calvin Watkins were also all let go by the company.
It was reported months ago that ESPN was chasing Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, and it looks like these layoffs could be a way to clear room for the NBA's biggest reporter. FOX Sports' Colin Cowherd seemed to indicate earlier on his radio show that this move would indeed be happening.
Considering all of the talent that ESPN has lost over the last year or so, this would be the equivalent of a massive coup.
Wojnarowski has emerged over the past few years as the premier breaking news reporter in the NBA. From trades, to signings, to draft picks, "Woj" has generally beaten every other reporter to the punch in order to break the news first.
Deadspin also reported that Wojnarowski could be taking some of the writers from his Vertical platform with him to ESPN. If true, it would be an enormous blow to Yahoo's sports operation, and an interesting gain for ESPN's NBA coverage.
