Win-Win: Shams Charania Joins ESPN

Is this the trade that benefits all parties?

And so what was long rumored is now official: Shams Charania is leaving the Athletic to join ESPN NBA as its lead news breaker. The Adrian Wojnarowski protégé turned hated rival now assumes the mantle of a news breaking job Woj just recently quit. The floated idea of sliding a Woj-allied baseball or football news breaker into the role went nowhere with upper management. Pat McAfee won.

My take? I think this is a good move for ESPN, even if I personally don’t get why the WWL is so invested in breaking news. The concept of desperately wanting someone to tweet information first absent a rational economic explanation reminds me of the “We need the eggs” joke from Annie Hall. But, since ESPN clearly operates under the premise that “we need the eggs/tweets,” I’d argue it’s institutionally healthier to get them from Shams.

And why is that? It’s about a lack of strings attached.