WOJ BOMB: Adrian Wojnarowski Announces He's Not Just Leaving ESPN, But Retiring From The News Industry Altogether
David L. Nemec. Getty Images.
Woah! Woj bomb!!
When I first got that notification with "-30- "in the text, I did what I always do when a Woj bomb comes through. I immediately scan it as fast as I can to see if "Boston Celtics" is included. Then once I see it isn't, I actually read what it says, and initially I thought this was going to be some sort of Steph Curry statement. Then I kept reading and nope, it's not just news that Woj is stepping away from ESPN, but that he's getting out of the game for good!
While certainly a shock, I kind of get it. There was a time where being first was everything. It's how Woj became Woj and it's what led to the famous Shams vs Woj battles we've had these last few years. But now that everyone is on Twitter and everyone gets the same news in 2.2 seconds, who really gives a shit about being "first" anymore? We no longer have to rely on these guys to get the news, shit, players are even dropping their own news on their own platforms, so now that we live in a time where we aren't all reliant on guys like Woj for information, this kind of makes sense.
The more surprising part is Woj leaving the game altogether. No more TV hits? No more nuggets of info that are clearly given by a team or an agent to help push an agenda? That's going to be a little weird, I can't lie. It will be nice to not have to worry about the NBA Draft picks getting leaked early, but I feel like Woj was better with that this year and this news is probably why. He most likely knew he was leaving and decided it wasn't worth it. Credit to him.
On the flip side, this is clearly a win for Shams. He won the war. These two had been battling for years as to who could ultimately become the top news breaker in the NBA, and now just one remains. Granted he does the same shit and is just as in the pocket of agents (Klutch) as Woj was on the team side, but at least now he doesn't have to worry about the competition. As good as other guys like Chris Haynes and Marc Stein might be, Woj was the giant. He was the main competitor to Shams and now that competition is gone.
Who knows, maybe this will spark the rise of a new challenger in the news-breaking game. But given how the internet has changed in recent years, it feels more like we'll all just continue to find shit out on Twitter and not really care who breaks it.
Woj saw the writing on the wall and decided to make a change after making a shit ton of money being the guy. Good for him.