Doc Rivers is firing shots at ESPN once again, but this time they're not aimed at Bill Simmons, but rather Chris Broussard and his infamous sources.
Rivers' angst towards Bristol all stems from a highly dubious report from Chris Broussard's Sources Friday night that the Knicks and Clippers were independently discussing a trade that would send Blake Griffin to New York and Melo to Los Angeles. But the report was mostly hype and little substance. Broussard even said the teams hadn't even talked about the deal with one another. It stems mostly from the Knicks hoping to get something out of Anthony before his contract expires. Of course they'd love to get Griffin for Anthony. They'd probably love to get LeBron James or Kevin Durant too. But there's nothing to suggest the Clippers would do the deal. However, predictably, "SOURCES: BLAKE FOR MELO" created a hysteria in the basketball world even though the fine print revealed that nothing was even happening.
And that sent Clippers head coach Doc Rivers into a tizzy. During a press conference he laid into the network for creating a story out of nothing and turning it into a big deal…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=wL95pQVmHJI
"This is so stupid, let's move on."
"My whole issue with any of that crap is that that network to me reports a story that they create and then they do reports on it for the next two days, on a story they created."
The funny thing in all of this is that ESPN.com printed a story on Rivers calling the trade report "stupid" but they did not include the quote about ESPN.
This is another great example of the infamous ESPN Echo Chamber going into overdrive. All it took this time was the mere speculation of a possible idea that someone might consider trading Blake Griffin for Carmelo Anthony. Over there is Broussard appearing on ESPN airwaves to talk about the trade. Over here is the ESPN.com breakdown of a potential deal. And of course the various segments with ESPN's NBA analysts talking about what a swap would mean for both teams.
It's not so much the initial report as it is the numerous articles and segments spent on the story that cements the report as legitimate in the minds of fans. The efficiency and power of the Echo Chamber is one of ESPN's great advantages over the rest of the sports world. It's how Colin Kaepernick gets in the discussion of "greatest quarterbacks ever" overnight. Report. Cover. Analyze. Debate. That's the ESPN Echo Chamber cycle. Make no mistake, because of ESPN's position and power they decide what's news and what isn't. Whatever Bristol decides to put their resources into is going to become a national story simply and solely because of the attention it receives from ESPN. And sooner or later, you hear "Griffin for Anthony" talked about enough to believe it's going to happen.
And ironically enough, even a story on Rivers questioning their story promulgates the initial ESPN report to the masses and continues to keep the echo chamber moving.
Video H/T @williamfford
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