Why is this news and threadworthy you say? Well, that means he won't be announcing any games which is great news in my opinion. I will never forgive how he CHOSE to downplay and even CHEER the blatant elbow by Fisher to Scola, saying it's all about toughness, and the childish blows by Kobe to Battier and Artest.
He was a pretty good color commentator IMO. Him and Harlan made a better tandem than Harlan and Miller do right now. At least NBA countdown gets a little better now.
should have never let go of Tim Legler, and Greg Anthony.... Magic, Simmons, and Wilbon are awful Collins would have fit in well with Greg Anthony and Tim Legler, and possibly would be on par with inside the nba, but inside the nba has gone down too with the aquistion of shaq
They should just have Jalen and Bill. If you want personality then let the personality have personality. If you want Lakers/Knicks/Heat 24/7 grade school analysis than just fire Jalen and Bill and let Magic and Dennis Scott run the show. Doug Collins actually is pretty good at explaining the X's and O's of basketball, but he wont have the time or the allowance to actually talk basketball. The talking points for 2013/14 ESPN Countdown will force down your throat this year- -When's Kobe coming back? -Are the Lakers better this year without Dwight? -Can the Heat 3-peat or should they look to make a trade/Should Lebron go to Cleveland? -Are the Knicks still the team of New York or are the Nets NY's team now?? You just watched every single NBA Countdown episode this year.
Really think Doug Collins is pretty overrated. I'd rather have him in the studios than broadcasting games. I'd take Wilbon over Collins in the studio as well.
P.S. If ESPN wants to REALLY get serious about their NBA pre-game show, they need to get SVP as the host. It starts there. EJ is the rock that holds the TNT crew together and SVP can be that guy for ESPN.
He's replacing Wilbon. I'm not a huge fan of this move, mainly because it's now 4 big personalities and no "straight guy" who can host. I hated the rotating host thing they do. They do need their EJ like the guy said above. SVP would be a great choice.
Like somebody already said, ESPN should just make NBA countdown just with Jalen and Bill, and then don't limit what they say.
Weird how so many people don't like Collins, I thought he was a great color commentator. Him and Kevin Harlan had such great chemistry, it was a pleasure to listen to games they called.
ESPN going for most annoying sports panel / discussion crew in the history of sports channels / shows. I'm glad that JVG & Hubie are still commentating, or else ESPN would be a big pain in the ass. TNT is the other way around, they have terrible commentators like annoying voice Reggie, Fratello who really sounds like a wizard - smaller version - and Marv Albert (yes he used to be great but has become old news).
Doris Burke knows her basketball. During her sideline reporting, she always asks some of the better questions when interviewing the coaches.
And more shakeup: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Breaking: <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicJohnson">@MagicJohnson</a> is leaving ESPN.</p>— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) <a href="https://twitter.com/richarddeitsch/statuses/388355502335201280">October 10, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> John Wildhack, ESPN Executive Vice President, Production: Earvin “Magic” Johnson informed us today that he’ll no longer be part of our NBA coverage due to his other commitments. We appreciate Magic’s contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors. We are in the process of determining our NBA commentator roles for the upcoming season. Earvin “Magic” Johnson statement: I love ESPN. Unfortunately, due to the nature of my schedule and other commitments, I don’t feel confident that I can continue to devote the time needed to thrive in my role. I will always feel a strong connection to the ESPN family and I enjoyed working with them very much. I’d like to thank John Skipper, John Wildhack, Mark Gross, Kim Belton, Amina Hussein, Mark Summer, Adam Hertzog, Bob Rauscher, Stuart Scott, Mike Wilbon, Jon Barry, Jalen Rose, Bill Simmons, Chris Broussard and the many others at ESPN for the wonderful opportunity to talk about the game I love. They are the best in the business. Bill Simmons Jalen Rose Doug Collins Guest appearances by: Doris Burke(Wednesdays), Avery Johnson & P.J. Carlesimo Yuck!