CARMELO Anthony is being lined up for a new broadcast role ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season.
The 10-time former All-Star, 40, has not done much media work since announcing his retirement from pro hoops last year.
Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement from pro basketball last year[/caption]
Anthony, 40, last played for the Lakers in 2022[/caption]
Ahead of a shake up in the NBA TV landscape, however, Anthony could soon become a regular feature.
Per Front Office Sports, the former New York Knicks star is in talks with NBA new-boys Amazon Prime Video and NBC regarding joining their studio teams.
Amazon have so far signed up Taylor Rooks to be the face of their coverage.
The 32-year-old could also be joined on Prime’s new-look NBA team by Dirk Nowitski and Blake Griffin.
NBC, meanwhile, are claimed to have agreed a deal with Jamal Crawford, who previously worked for TNT Sports.
The broadcaster is also expected to sign up Dwyane Wade, after the Miami Heat legend impressed as part of their Paris 2024 Olympics team.
In addition to Amazon and NBC, Anthony could also negotiate with ESPN.
Having agreed a new 11-year, $77bn broadcast deal with the NBA, ESPN finds itself in a position of flux.
In 2023, channel executives decided to ditch previous long-time top team Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson as part of a huge talent cull.
They decided to replace the duo with Doc Rivers and Doris Burke.
When Rivers left to become head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, ESPN turned to JJ Redick.
With Redick, 40, having since taken the Los Angeles Lakers job, however, they are once again on the lookout for a high-profile replacement.
They have so far rotated between Richard Jefferson, Tim Legler and Jay Bilas in the role.
It remains to be seen who will be selected alongside Mike Breen and Burke once the playoffs role around.
New rights deal
The NBA signed an 11-year deal with three networks for the league’s rights from the 2025-26 season.
And there will be no games on TNT for the first time since the network launched in 1988.
The Walt Disney Company will continue to show the league with 80 regular-season games across ESPN and ABC.
They will also show around 18 playoff games from the first and second round, a Conference Finals series for 10 of the 11 years, and remain the home of the NBA Finals.
NBC will return as an NBA broadcaster for the first time since 2002.
The network will show up to 100 games per season across it’s channels and Peacock streaming service.
It will also be the home of NBA All-Star and show approximately 28 playoff games from the first and second round.
NBC will show one Conference Finals Series for six of the 11 years, rotating with new broadcaster Amazon Prime.
Amazon will show 66 NBA regular-season games including one on Black Friday.
The streaming service is also the home of the latter stages of the NBA Cup and the entire Play-In Tournament.
Prime will also broadcast around one third of the playoff games in the first and second round.
However Jefferson, 44, would currently be frontrunner.
The former NBA champion is set to sit alongside Breen and Burke on Christmas Day.
They will be on the call for the premium match-up between Steph Curry‘s Golden State Warriors and LeBron James‘ Lakers.
ESPN is set to kick-off its Christmas Day NBA coverage at 11am with NBA Countdown.
They will then broadcast right through to the early hours of the morning.
The day will begin with the Knicks vs the San Antonio Spurs, before the Dallas Mavericks host the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Boston Celtics will then take on the Philadelphia 76ers, ahead of the Warriors-Lakers match-up. The night-cap will see the Phoenix Suns host the Denver Nuggets.
