When Adrian Wojnarowski retired from being an NBA reporter for ESPN, he didn’t leave much wiggle room for speculation that it might be a temporary move.
That still hasn’t stopped some front-office folks from sending him scoops.
Despite maintaining the kind of access that most NBA reporters would kill for, Woj remains unbothered.
The GM of the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team sat down with Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander last week to discuss his big career change on the Eye on College Basketball podcast.
Naturally, as it does with any breaking news insider, the conversation veered towards the strangest places that Woj ever broke news from.
“Side of the road, cemeteries,” Woj shared. “You know how many times my kids were parked in a cemetery while I’m breaking news? Just kids looking, and you look in the rearview mirror and they’re just looking at you like, ‘What are you doing, man?’ A lot of cars pulled over.
“Disneyland were the worst. You go to Disneyland with your kids. I remember reporting out the whole Gilbert Arenas situation in Washington over a few days at Disneyland. I remember the phones, it was a Blackberry. It didn’t charge very long. I just remember sitting there plugged in by the water fountain while the kids are on rides. Not the best, not dad of the year on that one.”
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The former ESPN reporter was then asked if any NBA people have offered him scoops in the weeks since he stepped away from the role and if he was tempted to report it just for old time’s sake. Wojnarowski admitted that it had happened, and he had a very specific response to their request.
“Yes, and not even remotely tempted,” said Woj. “There was one I said, ‘Fellas, it’s over. It’s over. Congratulations.’ I think my response was, ‘Congratulations, but I don’t give a sh*t.'”
Given everything Wojnarowski has said about why he decided to step away from the grueling insider life, it’s not surprising.
Besides, all that stuff is Shams’ problem now.
