The NBA Trade Deadline has come and gone, and yet again, NBA insider Shams Charania hyped up and whiffed on a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade.
As is the norm, ESPN NBA Insider Shams Charania was again peddling talks about how it was imminent that the Milwaukee Bucks would make a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. These rumors have been going on for a few years now and have never taken hold. This year felt different for basketball fans though, thanks to the struggles of the Bucks this season and Giannis’ durability concerns. Charania was on the front lines campaigning that Giannis wanted out since the season began. With the NBA Trade Deadline officially passing today and Giannis still in Milwaukee, NBA fans and even the Milwaukee Bucks took the chance to clown Shams for again failing to get anything right when it comes to his situation.
Below, we will highlight some of the best tweets and discuss what this could mean moving forward.
Shams Charania Shredded by NBA Twitter
Shams and NBA “Insider” Coverage
While I will admit as a Milwaukee Bucks fan that it’s very fun and rewarding to clown on Shams, who has tried to shove a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade down everyone’s throat, it does highlight a massive issue the NBA currently has. The NBA truly doesn’t have any “insiders” anymore and that is hindering the growth of the league. While that might seem like a reach, a lot of NBA fans just lost an incredible amount of respect for Shams Charania. While insiders certainly should be given grace when they’re wrong as no one can truly “predict” what will happen. This saga feels very different and much darker.
Multiple times over the past few days, Charania contradicted his own reporting. He stated for months that Giannis wanted out, yet Giannis posted today talking about his loyalty and how he didn’t want to leave. In fact, there were multiple interviews conducted by local reporters in Milwaukee with Giannis that made this all crystal clear over the last few weeks. Instead, Shams decided it was more important to try to make up news to generate clicks or views, instead of doing his job and reporting the actual news. While this all may not seem like a big deal, its importance is highlighted by simply comparing the NBA’s coverage under Adrian Wojnarowski to now.
Under Wojnarowski, breaking news was literally called a “Woj Bomb.” He was closely followed on all social media and talk shows in the weeks, days and hours prior to the trade deadline, draft, free agency, etc. Now, NBA fans don’t know where to turn. If the main “insider” has been proven time and time again to simply post whatever gets him the most attention, who can we truly trust outside of local news to actually get information. For a league that is struggling mightily with image issues, Shams is another example of the NBA and ESPN getting in their own way.
Hopefully, Shams Charania learns something from his embarrassment and gets back to actual reporting, but the unfortunate reality is that he’ll more than likely just go back to the well again this offseason. At least NBA fans will know not to believe a word that comes out of his mouth ever again.
