Shams Charania bore the brunt of it on Thursday night for more than a few reasons. The touted NBA insider was criticized after what, on the surface, just felt like an ordinary tweet from an insider. Charania tweeted that the Charlotte Hornets had a reported interest in 2023 Draft prospect Scoot Henderson.
Sources: Scoot Henderson is gaining serious momentum at No. 2 with the Charlotte Hornets in tonight’s NBA draft. Hornets have been torn over the last week between Henderson and Brandon Miller. Team has final meetings today to settle on decision.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 22, 2023
After Charania sent that tweet, the betting markets changed. Henderson’s odds increased in likelihood over Alabama’s Brandon Miller to be the No. 2 overall pick in Thursday night’s NBA Draft. The top choice had long been decided, as super prospect Victor Wembanyama was tabbed to go first overall. And he did.
But then something happened: Charlotte didn’t pick Henderson at all. The Hornets selected Miller, not Henderson. According to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, that was the plan.
All along, the entire Charlotte Hornets organization has been all-in on Brandon Miller — ownership, front office, scouts, coaches. They see him as a perennial future All-Star player.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2023
Charania took his licks after that online. Some questioned the practices of a reporter who does get a check from FanDuel Sportsbook. Ethically speaking, it might be a problem that a FanDuel reporter posted that tweet, then the odds increased (because people bet on Henderson to go No. 2 overall, so the odds underwent a significant shift), and then it didn’t end up even happening.
With that being said, sympathy came from one other insider in the sports world. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport echoed a light-hearted tone on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday on Charania’s tough night.
"I was following what happened with Shams last night..
"This unfortunately does happen because reporting on the draft is incredibly hard" @RapSheet #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/xRJmsehflY
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 23, 2023
McAfee brought up that Charania, who appeared on the show, “took a big piece of lumber” and “took a big ol’ hack” at Henderson going No. 2. And that FanDuel had to come out and make a statement saying that they had no previous knowledge of that information.
So, McAfee asked Rapoport if this was all just part of the game. The NFL Network insider had this to say:
“I was obviously following that very closely. I mean, I saw on your show, and then was kinda texting with Shams after. This is all really interesting. This does unfortunately happen. I love Shams, he does an awesome job. The Draft is hard. Reporting on the Draft is so hard because nobody wants to get jumped. And like, teams wil say, you know people talk about like, ‘Lying Season.’ Sometimes, lying is worth it. Or omitting and misleading is worth it to get the player you want. I’m not saying that happened here, but I just know that happens.
The hardest thing is to pin down who’s someone not picking No. 1 is going to take. So remember, we talked all the time with the Texans. I was pretty confident that C.J. Stroud was going 2 and we talked about it. And I kept saying, ‘I do not know.’ I really and truly didn’t know and I didn’t know until right before the pick. I was just confident using my deduction and everything I learned, and said, ‘I believe it’s gonna be CJ and I don’t know.’ And obviously, some very good people thought the opposite. But the most important thing to me, Draft-wise, is to say ‘I don’t know.’ Because unless you know for sure, unless the GM is like, ‘Hey, this is who we’re picking,’ it is impossible. I was obviously following that closely. Unfortunately, that happens and it sucks.”
McAfee said that after that, he thinks that you need certain traits to be an insider. And he’s right. There are so many concessions you have to make, many relationships to be built, and a lot of muck to get through.
While criticism for what happened last night might be just, the perspective on reporting that Rapoport provided on the Draft is interesting. His point on prioritizing saying “I don’t know” instead of being pinned down in either direction is a savvy play and one that Charania may offer next time.
